Originally Posted by
Lefly
I thought watches, like belts, had always to be removed and placed in the trays at security screening using metal detectors.
I do not have a watch, but I have a silver bracelet and a necklace that can set the alarm off, so I put them in a pocket of my bag while queuing and wear them back on as soon as I am on the other side.
This leads me to a question I had thought of but forgotten until now: what is the threshold for precious metals setting off the scanners?
Until recently I had not had a problem with gold, silver or even titanium jewellery when going through scanners - I have never bothered to take off rings and so on even though I do take off my watch, belt etc. My (probably erroneous) assumption was that Au/Ag are not magnetic and presumably it was because non-magnetic metals do not set off that type of alarm.
However recently at T3 Fast Track I had the dreaded beep and was told off (in a fairly good natured kind of way) by the agent for keeping on a 1 inch wide solid silver cuff "because it's metal so of course you can't wear it through here". I know it is real sterling silver because it was made by my mother with metal purchased from a reputable Hatton Garden dealer and then hallmarked for her at the Assay Office, so it wasn't because it is fake.
So were my previous experiences just because the pieces were smaller? Do silver and gold pieces both set off the scanners if large enough, and is it nothing to do with magnetism? Is it because larger pieces will contain enough of the non-Au/Ag elements to be picked up, or would even 100% Au/Ag set it off too?
I'm talking about the old-style scanners, not the wave type ones...
Back on topic: what I do take off I put into my bag though this is mainly to save time in picking everything up once I'm through and stop me forgetting small bits. I'll put all that back on properly once I'm in the lounge.