some companies sugggest to set the date a day before and rotate the hands clockwise until the date changes. some say to set the correct date then rotate the hands counter clockwise to set the time etc. I would ask the watch company which way to do it. I'm sure that didn't help you at all.

 

If Mr Omega doesn't give any advice on the subject, I'm sure you're safe but you can't go wrong playing it safe, can you?

 

JimmyK,
This is a damn good question!

Why haven't any of the WIS and watchmakers answered this question?
Is this some kind of forbidden topic? no consensus? flame war material? :-d

Come now, ante up!

J.

 

Lets apply a little logic to the problem.
The date should not be adjusted when the movement is between 8pm and 2am as the cogs/cams/gears are engaged to move the date ring during those hours and could be damage by reversing their progression.

So, if one moves the hands beyond the noted hours one is free to quick adjust the date.

If one is going to regress the date one day then note where in the cycle the movement currently is, progress the hours beyond the danger period and perform the adjustment to the date then reset the hour as required.

To finish off the process, progress the date to one day before the required date and then move the hands forward until the date changes over and you can then set the time accurately for that day.

There is no need to grind the hands through 30x24hrs to adjust the date back one day.

The quick date mechanism is just that if used correctly.

Slow date movements are another matter. These movements usually require the hands to be cycled between 8pm and the change of date and then reversing the hands back to 8pm to reengage the date change mechanism for the next change of date. Slower but still manageable.

I trust this is of some help.

 

Lets apply a little logic to the problem......<snip>

.....Slow date movements are another matter.

These movements usually require the hands to be cycled between 8pm and the change of date and then reversing the hands back to 8pm to reengage the date change mechanism for the next change of date. Slower but still manageable.

I trust this is of some help.

Thanks Snap,
I'm going to ask "the stupid question", how do you tell the difference between fast and slow date movements?

Does anything you said change if they are quartz instead of automatic movements?

Disregarding all the focus on the date change issue, what about just turning the watch "backwards"?
My autos tend to be much more expensive and I was always told to never turn the
hands back, so that is what I have done all these years. As the OP originally
proposed, that is often bloody well irritating when you just need to go back a minute,
or a couple hours when changing time zones. I guess it's a no-no around
midnight, but what about other times, and does it all apply to quartz movements also?

Thanks,
J.

 

Ok, a quick date movement is adjusted(usually) at the first click (detent) of the stem/crown. That is when you pull out the stem to make adjustments. At the second 'detent' you adjust the time. Push it in all the way and you can manually wind the main spring. If the case has a screw down crown one has to pay attention when winding the spring that the threaded crown isn't engaged and locked down inadvertently. If you have a slow date movement, no position exists to adjust the date. Its quite obvious when you have handled a quick date movement and have to then work with the other type.

As for quartz over mechanical thats tricky. Well maybe not. For the most part quartz movement designers are free to do things that wouldn't be possible on a mechanical. So most of my advice above applies to mechs. Read the manual is my best advice for quartz movements.

With regard to forward and backward rotation of the hands I have my doubts.
Reversing the direction of the hands for a few degrees of arc or minutes or hours shouldn't damage a modern movement. This is a generic comment. If you have a high end watch worth 100K+ and they say don't move the hands back, I'd take that on board. If you are talking about the daily wearer that I rotate with five other watches, in the range of pricing we normally discuss here, I wouldn't have the concern you raised. Again this is generic advice, so if it says "forbidden" in the manual of a particular watch, I'd take that on board. It would be rare that you find that printed in a manual supplied with a watch. In fact, I'd like to see it in writing from a manufacturer. Everyone, pull out the manuals and see if you can find a reference to this in your booklets. I don't think we will find too many, if any, examples. Lets see what we find out.

 

Thanks Snap,

I don't think I've ever read a damn watch "manual". You people are sick!
If I ever did, it had to be more that 20 years ago and I can't remember now.
I'll go look at some of my Omega and Rolex boxes. They are the only
few I have ever kept.

My grandfather showed me how to set a watch.
A quartz watch had not been invented yet. A "transistor radio" was cutting edge technology. :-d
I had never questioned this until I read Jimmy's post. I doubt I could ever break
this habit after all these years, but it amuses me to think about it now.

Other knowledgeable WIS, please join in with your thoughts on this watch setting
business. And please dig up the manuals to see what nuggets of gold can
be gleaned from them.

J.

 

Hey Snap,
I just want to thank you again for all the good info. It all makes perfect sense,
but I've sometimes wondered about the backwards thing. I think Jimmy was
questioning the same thing.

I've dug up an Omega manual/book and it just confirms what Jimmy originally
posted about not setting the date between 8 & 2. It doesn't say anything
about turning the watch backwards (anti-clockwise).

Is this an old wives' tale?
You left yourself some wiggle room in your reply. (are you running for office? :-d )
I'm sure there are many "older" watch owners who have always followed my
grandfathers advice. Am I wrong?

Maybe a watchmeister will come along and put this matter to bed.
I'm sure if I properly understood the workings of a watch, I wouldn't need
to ask this question. THAT's IT! That's what's bugging me, I want to understand
why turning backwards does no harm. Maybe this question is beyond the
scope of this thread and this forum.
I need a good book....

Thanks,
J.

 

As you were,

Is this an old wives' tale?

That is hard to deny or confirm. We aren't discussing one movement. We are discussing movements in general and more specifically movements that we would class as modern. I was qualifying my answer for those reasons. There are always the exceptions that may disprove the theory and one should be awake up to that. Mr Rolland Ranfft's excellent web site lists 4132 individual movements. I'm not in a position to write a single prescriptive rule to cover all the possible solutions represented in that list. So I caution and advise, not chisel in marble the gift of all knowledge..

Have a look here and see what you can see...

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk

As for books there is a list as long as your arm and maybe a bit more so have fun.

 

Thank you for the information.

Looks like depending on the watch, adjusting the time backward is not really a problem, or else the manufacturers' instruction will say so. But to be on the safe side, I will not set the time backwards unless it is only for a few hours.

Both my Seiko 5 and Omega Seamaster Pro have quick-set date feature. So even if I only set the time forward and then correct the date, it's not a big deal.

 

J.Wayne..... I don't mean to be critical ..... But whoever that gal is in that dive shot....
I wished she'd get that swim suit bottom out of her crack.....
I find it very distracting,even from here........
I guess I'm obviously not a beach person that has been allowed to enjoy the atmosphere,and view.
I only get to wear a diver watch,can't go play like I was one....Ha....Ha

 

Hey JimmyK: you need a GMT watch, that would be simpler

Omega has a few nice ones!

 

This has been discussed several times here and there.

There are as stated "quick change" and "slow change" date mechanisms, within both of these, there are date change wheels with spring loaded advancing fingers and those with solid fingers. And, age has nothing to do with whether they have one or the other.

With the spring loaded date advance wheel the finger that advances the date wheel is sprung so if the hands are reversed through 12 midight, the finger will snap over the gear tooth on the date wheel, in the other type reversing the hands will reverse the date as well. ETA/Val 7750 have fixed date change fingers as do many other "modern movements." Why? Space limitations within the movement.

The major problem with the fixed date change finger is when it is installed in a "quick change" date mechanism (like the 7750.) Attempting to quick change the date (with the stem in the second position) and having the hands in the 8 pm to 2 am position will put the immovable finger in the path of the date wheel gear teeth, and if too much force is applied in turning the date wheel damage to the gear teeth, finger or both many occur. Most times the "quick change mechanism are designed so that they cannot transmit enough torque to permenately damage themselves, but other are more delicate. The 7751 springs to mind.

(It should be noted here that there are some movements out there with fixed date change fingers, and no "quick change" ability. In these cases it is necessary to advance the hand 24 hours for each date change. Fortunately, these movements are older movements, lower-end movements or both.)

For those mechanisms with "quick change" and the sprung finger attempting to quick-change the date with the hands at 8 pm to 2 am position, will usually just wedge the date change finger into the gear tooth and cause the date to stick half-way between dates, but not permenantly damnage the movement. (However, to fix this, the hands have to be run through a complete 24 hour cycle to get all back in order.)

Most simple analog quartz movement have the same date change mechanism as their mechanical counter-parts, and therefore behave the same.

Everything here is also applicable to day/date mechanisms.

 

I am in the same boat as you with the travel.
From my 2007 Omega Manual:
Section that applies to my watch:

CALIBRES 1120, 2500, 2520, 2610 (fig. I)
• 2627 (fig. III) • 2300 (fig. IX)

...

2. Date setting: pull the crown out to position 2, turn the
crown backwards and push it back to position 1.
For calibre 2610 only: date adjustment is made by
instantaneous jumps.
NOTE: date-setting is not recommended between 8pm
and 2am.

3. Time setting: hours - minutes - seconds. Pull the
crown out to position 3. The seconds hand will stop.
Turn the crown forwards or backwards. Synchronise
the seconds by pushing the crown back to position 1
to coincide with a given time signal.

Says you can turn the crown in either direction. No warning about turning backwards like there is with setting the date after 8pm.

 

I've always believed that backwards winding would damage the movement, but when I think back as to why I've believed that, I have no idea.

EDIT: Sorry for the necro; wrong thread.

 

In the manual for my Seiko SRBP43 Cocktail Time automatic watch it says "When setting the time, be sure to turn back the minute hand a little behind
the desired time and then advance it to the exact time." Pretty sure Seiko wouldn't say you could turn it back, even a little, if it could damage the movement.

 

Wow. This thread is nearly 12 years old.
Talk about turning the hands backwards!

 

Time marches on!

 

Ha! I didn't realize the original post was that old when I started reading. Actually this has been really helpful to review for me, though! Thanks to everyone back in 2007 for the information. I have always (I guess carelessly) turned the minute hand "backwards" when setting the time on my watch if that was the more "convenient" direction, and never had any issues, so I feel as though these posts help confirm that is generally ok. I am always careful not to adjust the quick set date between 9pm and 2am, though honestly I have forgotten a couple times and done it anyway and none of my watches has ever seemed the worse for it.

 

Ok to rotate hands COUNTER-clockwise?

Maybe a crazy question but I have always wondered, so here goes.
When I was young, an old person told me (this is where both wisdom and superstition comes from) that when I set the time, never rotate the hands backwards. I should always rotate the hands clockwise until they reach the correct time. This was many decades ago on what would be 'vintage' watches now.
Any truth to that, then or now?
And yes, I still do that on mechanical watches!

 

Re: Ok to rotate hands COUNTER-clockwise?

Maybe a crazy question but I have always wondered, so here goes.
When I was young, an old person told me (this is where both wisdom and superstition comes from) that when I set the time, never rotate the hands backwards. I should always rotate the hands clockwise until they reach the correct time. This was many decades ago on what would be 'vintage' watches now.
Any truth to that, then or now?
And yes, I still do that on mechanical watches!

I have no hesitation when setting the time to turn the hands backwards, and have never damaged a watch. Of course, it is wise to only set the date when the two hands are towards the bottom of the watch. I also avoid hand winding an automatic watch, as I once damaged one doing so.

 

Re: Ok to rotate hands COUNTER-clockwise?

Once I kept turning hands of ETA 2824 (has date) counter-clockwise, not just for a little bit, but kept turning the time back, to see what would happen. E.g. Does the date turn back? What ended up happening was the movement "clicked" and the hour and minute hands became misaligned! Then I had to keep turning back and "clicking" through till hour and minute hands aligned again. So I'd say it's okay to turn hands back a little bit, but to keep turning them back might not be a good idea?

 

Re: Ok to rotate hands COUNTER-clockwise?

Merged with a randomly chosen thread out of literally 100.

 

Just bought a Mido mechanical (Caliber 80 movement) and the AD staff told me not to adjust the time backward. However, I looked at the manual and it clearly says I can adjust time in both directions. In this case, I trust the Mido manual.