A while back, I bought a Smurf Sub-C from IndyWatchGuy. It has an Eta 2836, and ran from spot on, to +3 seconds a day, a very nice piece.
I started noticing lately that it was slowing down, and had started being 10-15 seconds slow. Hmmm.
After a lot of head scratching, and figuring that it will need an expensive service, I started to think about other possible causes. After digging around in my watch toolbox, I found an old compass, the kind that they used to include as prizes in Cracker Jack boxes. I thought "Why not, might as well check for that" I waved the watch over it. And the compass spun like a top. Interesting.
So I went on Ebay and found a brand new Chinese demagnetizer for $10. Holding the watch on it, I hit the power button for 10 seconds, lifting the watch straight up in the air away from it in the last two.
I did the compass check, and the needle didn't wiggle a bit. And she has run +2 seconds over the last 24 hours, sitting dial up.
It's really nice when a cheap fix works!
O