How to Avoid a Common Mistake That Could Ruin Your Watch

If your automatic mechanical watch has recently lost power, or if your quartz watch has not been used in a while and has stopped, you will need to set the date. Don’t be so hasty, though, as there’s something you need to know before you attempt to fix your watch. Though it may seem simple, you could actually damage your watch by setting the date at the wrong time. Surprising, but true.

When Should I Change My Watch’s Date?

If you want the simplest, most straightforward advice, here it is: do not change the date on your watch between 9:00 in the evening and 3:00 in the morning. The best time to change it would be at about 5:00 in the afternoon or morning.

What? Why Do I Need to Avoid Those Times?

To explain why you need to avoid those specific times and aim for 5:00 in the morning or in the afternoon, we will need to explain how the date change mechanism works. Haven’t you ever wondered why, though all the hands move, even imperceptibly in the case of the hour hand, the date stays facing you at nearly all times? 

To change the date near instantaneously, instead of little by little like the hands, it needs more power than what it can immediately get from its motor or main spring and gear train. Instead, it slowly builds power and torque beginning at 9:00 in the evening, and this mechanism stays engaged until around 3:00 in the morning. 

So what does this all mean for someone trying to change the date on their watch? This means that if you use the quick date set system during the time period where the mechanism is engaged, you are applying a lot of force that the gears in the date change mechanism were not meant to handle. You could damage the system entirely by doing this. It doesn’t matter if your watch has Seiko mods or not, as long as your watch is a mechanical or quartz, it has this mechanism.

So Why Is 5AM or 5PM the Safest Times to Adjust the Date?

The times 5AM or 5PM are safe because, during these times, the date change mechanism is completely disengaged. Should you begin to adjust your watch’s date at this point, you won’t have anything to worry about at all. There’s no way you can damage the date change mechanism. 

Conclusion

Not all watches have this exact mechanism, so all is not lost if you have accidentally done this. However, this is a common mechanism that watches use, so it’s best to avoid making this mistake all the same. Hopefully, this information has been very helpful to you. It is something everyone needs to know, from novices to experts. Many in the watch community are not aware of this and make this mistake all the time, so be sure to spread this information!

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