How to set the date on an automatic or quartz watch?

The date indicator on a watch is a very useful tool in your daily life, but when a 30-day month arrives you always wonder how to set the date on your watch. We will explain how to set the date on your watch.

To set the date on a classic quartz watch, it is very simple: 

1. Pull the crown out to position 1. To be sure you are in position 1, look at your second hand, it is still turning!
2. Turn the crown counterclockwise to set the date.
3. When you are finished, press the crown to position 0.

• Automatic movement and date change: If you have an automatic watch, do not change the date during the period known as the "death zone", the time between 9pm and 3am. Indeed, it is during this period that the mechanism responsible for changing the date is activated and therefore performing the manipulations to change the date at this time can strongly damage the movement of your watch.  To know if your watch indicates 9pm or 9am and therefore know if you can change the date on your watch, pull the crown of your watch up to step 2, and move your watch forward by 3 hours. If the date changes, it means that your watch was indicating 9 o'clock, if nothing happens, it means that it was indicating 9 o'clock and therefore you can change the date!
• Screw-in crown and date change: If like our Concordia watch, your watch uses a screw-in crown, please follow the same instructions as above, except that you have to unscrew the crown of your watch before you can pull the crown out and set the date. To make sure you don't damage the screw-in thread and your watch, when you screw it back in, take this simple precaution: using your thumb and forefinger, press the crown against the screw-in thread and turn it down (counterclockwise). After a while you will hear and feel a "click" which means that the crown is well engaged, you can then screw it in (clockwise) with peace of mind.