Set your watch accurately

Try it on a practice watch

This practice watch starts wrong on purpose — including the AM/PM and date. Use the crown positions and buttons to set it to the UK time above.

Step by step

• 11. Unscrew the crown, if needed

  Dive and sports watches often have a screw-down crown. Turn it anticlockwise until it springs out before pulling it. Never force a crown.

• 22. Get the AM/PM right using the date

  A 12-hour dial looks the same at 2 am and 2 pm, but the date changes only at midnight. A common method:

  • Pull to the time position and move the hands forward until the date changes. It's now just after midnight.
  • If it's currently afternoon, keep going past 12 once more so you're in the PM half.

  Many mechanical watches warn against using the date quick-set between about 9 pm and 3 am, while the date mechanism is engaged. If you need to quick-set the date, move the hands to around 6:30 first — but check your manual's exact window.

• 33. Set the date

  With the hands in a safe position, use the date setting position (often the first click) to set the date. Date discs usually have 31 days, so correct it at the start of months with 30 days or fewer.

• 44. Set the hours and minutes

  In the time-setting position, move the minute hand a little past the target and then bring it back, or always finish moving forward — either way the aim is a hand that lands precisely on a minute marker.

• 55. Line up the seconds

  If your watch “hacks” (the seconds hand stops when you pull the crown): pull it when the seconds hand reaches 12, set the minute hand to the next minute, and push the crown in exactly as the reference clock reaches :00.

  If it doesn't hack, set the minutes just as the seconds hand passes 12 — you'll be within a few seconds. Some quartz and digital watches have a separate seconds-reset function; see the manual.

• 66. Push the crown home and check

  Push the crown fully in and screw it down if it's a screw-down type — that's what keeps the water out. Check the date again tomorrow morning: if it changed at midday, the watch is 12 hours out.

Digital and radio-controlled watches

Digital watches usually use a mode button to reach the setting screen; check the 12/24-hour setting and the year (it matters for date and leap-year handling). Radio-controlled watches in the UK normally set themselves from the MSF time signal broadcast from Anthorn — set the home city or time zone to London, and leave the watch near a window overnight if it hasn't received a signal.