Accidentally left my watch uncovered while I was in the walk-in freezer, is this anything to worry about?

I'm talking about the little condensation spot above the star

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Place it into raw rice or a bag of desiccant.

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If it’s on the inside it could mean there’s moisture. Whether it’s excessive moisture I don’t know. I’ve never seen that when wearing a watch outside in freezing temps. Nice watch though!

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jcwatch

Place it into raw rice or a bag of desiccant.

It's already gone, but this means there's a little bit of moisture inside, right?

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Uncovered or crown unscrewed? I don’t know what the protocol is for a walk-in freezer, but I wonder if the condensation has nothing to do with you not protecting the watch, but instead exposed comprised gaskets. How old is the watch and when was it last serviced? I am not an expert in this particular matter but I’m pretty sure any sign of moisture is a bad thing. Did the condensation mark go away? If it did, maybe you’re all right and the extreme cold is a bit of a “fluke” scenario.

I wonder what someone who is more qualified will say.

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JamesBlond

Uncovered or crown unscrewed? I don’t know what the protocol is for a walk-in freezer, but I wonder if the condensation has nothing to do with you not protecting the watch, but instead exposed comprised gaskets. How old is the watch and when was it last serviced? I am not an expert in this particular matter but I’m pretty sure any sign of moisture is a bad thing. Did the condensation mark go away? If it did, maybe you’re all right and the extreme cold is a bit of a “fluke” scenario.

I wonder what someone who is more qualified will say.

It went away after maybe five-ten minutes. It's -20° F in there. The watch was made in 2022

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ScoldedMilk

It's already gone, but this means there's a little bit of moisture inside, right?

There's a chance.

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It's just residual humidity rising to the top from the temperature differenciation. You can place it in a ziplock bag with silicate packets with the crown extended to reduce any moisture from inside. I've had to do it myself.

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As I understand it, it's normal for there to be a little bit of moisture in the air inside a watch case.

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ScoldedMilk

It's already gone, but this means there's a little bit of moisture inside, right?

Place it rice. All watches have some amount of moisture in them and then add then chill it will condensate some.

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ScoldedMilk

It went away after maybe five-ten minutes. It's -20° F in there. The watch was made in 2022

It sounds fine, then. If it were my watch I’d do what @fredcrook suggested and call it a day. I assume the watch has a fairly basic 3rd party movement. If there’s any slight “damage” that will occur, the parts or even whole movement can be easily and relatively cheaply replaced. But I assume it’ll be fine. I don’t think watches have 0% humidity in them, given the fact that there is air in the watches.

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JamesBlond

It sounds fine, then. If it were my watch I’d do what @fredcrook suggested and call it a day. I assume the watch has a fairly basic 3rd party movement. If there’s any slight “damage” that will occur, the parts or even whole movement can be easily and relatively cheaply replaced. But I assume it’ll be fine. I don’t think watches have 0% humidity in them, given the fact that there is air in the watches.

That's true. It's that Seagull movement, actually

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I've had this myself occasionally but rather more condensation showing than yours. It is alarming but they all return to normal and have appeared undamaged. I guess as there is always some air inside a watch there will be water vapour too. You don't need to worry at all in my opinion.