The most important thing for any watch owner to know is how to set the date and time on their timepiece. Without this knowledge, it will be a challenge to ensure that the watch is telling the correct time and may make the wearer unintentionally late for events. A watch owner should be able to rely on their timepiece to accompany and assist them in their day-to-day lives, and so periodically checking and adjusting the time is a useful skill. This may initially seem to be a simple task, but if it is done incorrectly, it can cause lasting damage to the movement of the watch. Keep reading for our simple guide on how to set the date and time on a watch.
It is vital to remember that the date and time should not be adjusted between 9pm and 3am. This is because the gears that cause the date to change are in motion during this time. Any manual adjustments to the date and time while the gears are moving can chip one of the gears which will cause long-term issues within the movement of the watch.
Before attempting to change the date and time on a watch, it is advised that the watch should have power, so it is best to wind a hand-wound watch, wear an automatic watch, or replace the battery in a quartz watch before beginning. The best time to set the date and time on a watch is either 6.30am or 6.30pm. This is because at these times, the gears are not in motion, and it is easy to remember as both the hour and minute hands will be pointing downwards towards 6 o’clock.
Setting the Time
The basic function of a watch is that it displays the time, so setting the time is the best place to start. Some watches do not have additional date and day functionalities, so the time is the only function that needs to be set. To set the time in most automatic watches, the crown should be pulled out by one click. Once the crown is in the correct position, it ought to be rotated clockwise until the hands display the precise time. If in doubt, the exact time can be checked using a radio, television, or radio-controlled clock to ensure that the watch is as precise as possible. The only precaution that must be taken is not to turn the crown anticlockwise as this motion can cause damage to the movements of some watch models. If in any doubt about how best to complete this process, it is always advised to refer to the watch manual or visit the manufacturer for advice.
Setting the Date and Day
In order to set the date and day on most mechanical watches, the crown needs to be pulled out all the way. To set the date, the crown should be turned clockwise, and for the day it ought to be turned anticlockwise. The best practice is to set the day and date to the one previous to the current date or day. This is because mechanical watches tend to work on a 24-hour time scale, and as the dial only exhibits 12 hours, it is hard to tell whether the watch is exhibiting day or night-time. Once the previous day has been set, the crown can then be used to adjust the time until the date display changes to the current and correct one. This will happen once the hands pass midnight. The time can then be set to be correct too and the process of setting the date and time is complete.
Once any adjustments have been made, the crown should be returned to its original position. It is always advisable to consult the watch manual or visit the manufacturer if there is any uncertainty about how to set the date and time on a watch in order to avoid any accidental damage to the movement.
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