Shunning the popular trend of making smart watches, Omega is busy trying to solve an age-old problem of its own which it says is far more important.

The company has announced the launch of the first anti-magnetic mechanical watch, the Seamaster Aqua Terra > 15,000 gauss, which is immune to the growing number of magnetic fields that we are choosing to surround ourselves with in our phones, tablets, laptops, handbags and kids' toys.

The problem, says Omega - and one which it happily proved a number of times at a launch event in London with other watches - is that when a person puts their watch near a magnet the second hand stops.

This means you could "lose time" - estimated to be around 4 minutes a day in some extreme cases because of direct or remnant magnetism.

While many won't see the need or urge to have an anti-magnetic watch, Omega says it's a major problem that affects its users. In Japan 85 per cent of maintenance requests Omega deals with are magnetism related.  

Omega has been aware of the problem for several years, but until now has been able to solve the problem only by putting a Faraday cage around the timepiece - something that isn't that effective and means the watch has to be completely sealed: you can't see the movement, for example.

Now with advancements in a number of materials, including the use of Liquid Metal - a metal alloy also licensed by Apple - effectively ignoring magnetic fields and not having to make the watch out of just wood or glass has become possible.

The watch itself features a 41.5mm stainless steel co-axial chronometer presented on either a matching bracelet or a brown leather strap. It has a slightly yellowed lacquered black dial, sun-brushed from the centre and decorated with the distinctive vertical lines that define Omega's popular Aqua Terra collection.

Boasting that it doesn't have a Faraday cage, it has a transparent sapphire crystal glass back that allows full view of the co-axial caliber 8508 movement. There is also a date window at 3 o'clock.

The Seamaster Aqua Terra > 15,000 gauss is water resistant to 15 bar (150 metres / 500 feet). With the combination of its co-axial mechanical movement its Si14 silicon balance spring, it is so reliable that it is delivered with a four-year warranty. Omega says it should be accurate to within 2 seconds daily.

If you work with magnetic fields, have £4,170 and want a mechanical timepiece, this is the one to look into when it hits shops in October.