How to set your watch

Follow our step by step guide to adjust the time and date of your watch.

Setting the time and date on your mechanical watch is relatively simple. Still, there are a couple of basic rules you should follow, failing which, may unwittingly damage the delicate internal movement.

Here is our essential guide and rules you should follow to maintain the excellent health of your mechanical timepiece.

1. Don't wind, or set your watch while it is on your wrist.

   Never wind or set your wrist-watch while you are wearing it. If you leave your watch on, you may wind your watch at an awkward angle, or put unnecessary strain on the crown and stem.

2. Manually restart your watch before you adjust it.

   If it's been a while since you wore your watch, re-wind it before you adjust the date or time.

3. How to wind your watch.

   To wind your watch, unscrew the crown and then turn the crown clockwise until you feel resistance (20-30 times). Once you feel resistance, your watch is fully wound. Forcefully winding any further may result in damaging your watch.

4. How to set the date.

   Most mechanical watches have 3 positions for the crown. The first, as outlined above, is the "winding" position. The second (activated by pulling the crown again) is the date adjust setting. When in the date-adjust mode, turn the crown clockwise to adjust the date.

   Don't set your date within 3 hours of midnight.

   During the hours before and after midnight, your watch is gearing up for a date change. For accurate date adjustment, set the date function during the hours below the centerline (hours 3 through to 9).

5. To set the time on your watch.

   Pull the crown fully out (position 3), and your watch has now entered time-adjust mode, stopping the second hand. If you have OCD and want to calibrate correctly, stop the second hand at the 12 o'clock position. Turn the crown clockwise to set the time. If you overshoot the desired time, do not turn the crown backwards (anti-clockwise) as this may damage the watches mechanism. Instead, continue in a clockwise direction until you return to the desired time.

6. How to set your watch in AM or PM.

   Pull the crown entirely out (position 3) wind the crown clockwise until you see the date start to change, at this point your watch is nearing midnight and is in PM mode.

7. Push in and screw the crown back down.

   Press the crown back down to the base. Then screw the crown clockwise back down to seal and pressurize the watch water-tight.