zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Q re turning your mechanical watch "back" ->

I have an SMP (purch new 11/01). When I set the time by pulling out the crown the second hand stops. Should I be concerned about simply rolling the watch back 1 hour - once a year? This site suggests that I'm OK so long as I don't do this around midnight. Thoughts appreciated -- at least so that I may sleep better ;-)

Thanks much - via con dios...

This site reads as follows:

As a general practice, no for mechanical watches, yes with some limitations for quartz watches. For some watches with mechanical movements, this is a bad idea for several reasons. First, the mechanisms are usually designed around moving forward, so some cannot take the stress of reversing properly. Second, after a mechanical watch settles in, reversing the watch against the pattern of wear may cause unnecessary additional wear.

Both mechanical and quartz watches with dates and other complications handled by mechanical parts can be harmed by rolling the time backwards--especially near midnight.

Despite that, many modern watches can be reversed with no problem. But it is best to check with the manufacturer to be sure. The one general rule is that if your mechanical watch's second hand does not stop when you put the watch in time setting mode, then you should definitely not turn the hands backwards.