How to Set the Day and Date on a Watch

This video will explain how to set the day and date on most mechanical watches. Before we get started, it is important to be aware of the so-called “danger zone” when setting the calendar windows on your watch. You should never change the day or day when your watch is showing 9pm to 3am. This is the time when the gears inside the movement engage to switch to the next day. Therefore, manually adjusting the calendar windows during the “danger zone” time can damage the watch. We will offset this by changing the time to a “safe zone” before changing the calendar windows.

Most modern day-date watches are double quickset, which is to say that both the day and the date can be set independently from the timekeeping hands. To set the day and date windows on a double quickset watch, first unscrew the winding crown until it pops out from the case. Then turn the winding crown clockwise 20 to 40 times to fully wind the movement. Once the watch is fully wound, pull the winding crown out to the last notch to change the time. Change the time to indicate 6:30 to ensure that you are in the “safe zone.” Push the winding crown one notch in and now you can change the calendar functions. Turning the winding crown clockwise changes the date while turning the crown counterclockwise changes the day. Keep turning the winding crown until yesterday’s day and date show up in their respective windows. Then, pull the winding crown back out to the last position and turn the hands until you past midnight so that both the day and date switch over to today’s date. Set the time accordingly, taking into consideration if it is before noon or after. Push the winding crown back to the winding position and screw it back into the case.

If you have a single quickset day-date watch, the process of setting both calendar windows is a little bit more involved. A single quickset model means that the date is set independently from the timekeeping hands but the day window is not. To set the day and date windows on a single quickset watch, first unscrew the winding crown until it pops out from the case. Then turn the winding crown clockwise 20 to 40 times to fully wind the movement. Once the watch is fully wound, pull the winding crown out to the last notch to change the time. Change the time to indicate 6:30 to ensure that you are in the “safe zone.” Push the winding crown one notch in and now you can change the date. Turn the winding crown to change the number in the window to today’s date. Then, pull the winding crown back out to the last position. Keep turning the hands until the today’s day shows up in the window. You may have to go through several 24-hour cycles to get the correct day. Once the correct day appears, set the time, taking into consideration A.M. or P.M. hours. Push the winding crown back to the winding position and screw it back into the case.

If you have a non-quickset day-date watch, the process of setting both calendar windows is even more elaborate. A non-quickset model means that both the date and the day are coupled to the timekeeping hands. To set the day and date windows on a non-quickset watch, first unscrew the winding crown until it pops out from the case. Then turn the winding crown clockwise 20 to 40 times to fully wind the movement. Once the watch is fully wound, pull the winding crown out to the last notch. Turn the winding crown continuously until the hands go past midnight to get the right day in the window. You may have to go through several 24-hour cycles to get to the correct day. The date will also change during this operation but just ignore it for now. Once the correct day appears in the window, turn the hands counterclockwise past midnight back to 9 pm and then forwards past midnight to 1 am. This process will advance the date. Keep repeating this until the correct date appears in the window. Once the correct date appears, set the time, taking into consideration A.M. or P.M. hours. Push the winding crown back to the winding position and screw it back into the case.

Whenever possible, always refer to the official manufacturer’s instruction manual for more details on how to set the day and date on your specific watch model.