Don't change the date between 10PM - 2AM?

[jizeal]

I was at the AD this weekend and I mentioned to the watchmaker that I hate having to change the date on my watch when it comes up in rotation so I dont want to see a Daytona Date.

He then advises that I should never change the date on any Rolex between 10PM and 2AM because the date disc is engaged in advancing and during this time you could damage the gears. Has anyone else heard something like this before?

[Naples09]

Originally Posted by jizeal

I was at the AD this weekend and I mentioned to the watchmaker that I hate having to change the date on my watch when it comes up in rotation so I dont want to see a Daytona Date.

He then advises that I should never change the date on any Rolex between 10PM and 2AM because the date disc is engaged in advancing and during this time you could damage the gears. Has anyone else heard something like this before?

Yes, I have heard that but do not know if its true or not. Usually not a problem since I change the date in the morning when putting the watch on.

[rosspanics]

Yes, its true.

[MortgageGuy]

I dont believe this is true on modern Rolex...perhaps some vintage but NOTHING modern... Am I mistaken here

[dsio]

Not so sure about that, my watchmaker said it was fine with my Rolex, but a risk with my 7750 based Seamaster.

Vanessa from TRF made a post saying that it isn't an issue: http://www.rolexforums.com/showthrea...highlight=date

and to be honest, I was under the impression only slow date change watches had a problem in this area, rather than Rolex's which flick to the next date instantly.

[Chipmunk]

I've heard that before but I don't think it's true otherwise Rolex should have provided such warning. I'm sure others with more accurate info will chime in soon.
BTW, I don't change the date on my Rolex between those times.

[Sarajevo]

IWC Pilot Chrono handbook advises against changing the date between 2200 and 0200.

[dsio]

Originally Posted by MortgageGuy

I dont believe this is true on modern Rolex...perhaps some vintage but NOTHING modern... Am I mistaken here

Vintage don't have a problem, 1803 Day-Date's don't have quickset, 1680's 1675s and vintage Datejusts don't either, you have to wind the hands forward, which by definition means having to change date *only* between those hours.

Only modern 3xxx calibres AFAIK have quickset, and I'm pretty sure its not an issue for them either.

That said I'm not sure whether the Day on Day-Dates with quick and double quick movements is slow change or fast, its a big wheel that has a lot of degrees to turn each change.

[youenjoymyself]

The owner's manual with my Breitling Navitimer explicitly states to not change the date during this period of time (and to change the time to the allowable time first if you must change the date). It states this puts pressure on the mechanism that moves the date forward at midnight and it could break.

When I recently bought my Rolex I looked for the same disclaimer/instruction in the manual and saw nothing. So, while I am wary, I assume their movements do not have this limitation.

One of my good friends has an IWC which broke. When it was returned from repairs, they told him this was the likely cause of the break.

[BOA]

I've heard it with Breitling, but I haven't heard that with Rolex.

[Noonan]

I've only heard this with 7750 based chronos. That being said, I still don't change the date on any watch between those hours.

[MoosicPa]

The modern Rolex has the quickset date, and it doesn't matter what time you change the date. As for the vintage, I'm not really sure.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by jizeal

I was at the AD this weekend and I mentioned to the watchmaker that I hate having to change the date on my watch when it comes up in rotation so I dont want to see a Daytona Date.

He then advises that I should never change the date on any Rolex between 10PM and 2AM because the date disc is engaged in advancing and during this time you could damage the gears. Has anyone else heard something like this before?

No........ Your watchmaker is wrong... You do NOT need to worry about when you change the date on your Rolex...

It does NOT engage the date disk gears as on ETA and some other based movements. If you read an Omega manual, it specifically warns against this.. You won't find that warning in a Rolex manual.

Rolex uses a cam and lever for the date change.. Nothing is engaged, but when the main wheel reaches midnight a cam rolls into a slot releasing a spring loaded lever that slaps the date over one day.. thus, no gears to break..

[Art161]

Originally Posted by Tools

No........ Your watchmaker is wrong... You do NOT need to worry about when you change the date on your Rolex...

It does NOT engage the date disk gears as on ETA and some other based movements. If you read an Omega manual, it specifically warns against this.. You won't find that warning in a Rolex manual.

Rolex uses a cam and lever for the date change.. Nothing is engaged, but when the main wheel reaches midnight a cam rolls into a slot releasing a spring loaded lever that slaps the date over one day.. thus, no gears to break..

Larry, does your comment include the older Rolex models, say a 1984 DJ? I used to try to set the date around midnight when the month had fewer than 31 days, and I often had difficulty in getting the date centered in the window. Then, when I began changing the date either the previous afternoon or the following morning, everything worked smoothly.

[SohAIS]

Not sure about rolexs but i had a modern longines chronograph and the owner's manual clearly said not the change the date between 10:00pm and 2:00am.

[cpo]

Originally Posted by sohail

Not sure about rolexs but i had a modern longines chronograph and the owner's manual clearly said not the change the date between 10:00pm and 2:00am.

My Fortis B-42 Marinemaster with quick set day and date had the same warning.

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Art161

Larry, does your comment include the older Rolex models, say a 1984 DJ? I used to try to set the date around midnight when the month had fewer than 31 days, and I often had difficulty in getting the date centered in the window. Then, when I began changing the date either the previous afternoon or the following morning, everything worked smoothly.

No.. Vintage watches use the older method, but you need to go back 30 years of so.......

[nauticajoe]

Yes, I've heard of that before. I just make the habit of changing the date in the morning before I head out the door.

[georgew]

My Vacheron Constantin overseas has this warning about date change. So because I do have other than Rolex (breitling and GP too) watches I just set the hands everytime for all my watches to 5:30 - 6:30 or therabouts before I set the date. That way I don't have to think about which watch I am setting. Takes maybe an extra 5 - 7 secs to do this first. Cheap peace of mind.

[onryo]

For those with 7750-based chronos: I had a 7750-based chrono that I messed with and changed the dates, over-manipulated the pushers, etc. for close to 10 years before anyone told me about this. I agree that it is not advised, but I think the risk of damage is a bit overstated. The 7750 is a darn tough chrono movement.

[russiarussian]

Mmm

[RolexguyinSF]

I took one of my ceramic Rolex models two years ago to RSC at Bernecke's (authorized Rolex service facility) here in San Francisco. This watch was having a problem with the date switching over; it would switch half way over at midnight, and not completely all the way until 4-5 am. It was consistent, and repeatable. I spoke to Giovanni there, many here know him, as he's worked there for a long time, and is now the proprieter. When the work was completed, he said in the future when the date is incorrect (at the end of the month), wait until the next morning to change it. I told him I had heard something about not changing it at certain hours (10-2) and he said "it's best" to wait until the next day, as changing it at that time was not ideal.

One of the reasons I posted this was as I read the other posts, people seem to pass on information, that as far as I can tell (or at least RSC tells me) is just not correct. People repeat things here like gospel, but few, if any can back it up with any data or facts whatsoever. Please reply if you can tell me where, when, and how exactly you know this to be true / false, other than "I heard it at an AD" Otherwise it's nothing more that another WIS'ers opinion.



Thank you.

Originally Posted by jizeal

I was at the AD this weekend and I mentioned to the watchmaker that I hate having to change the date on my watch when it comes up in rotation so I dont want to see a Daytona Date.

He then advises that I should never change the date on any Rolex between 10PM and 2AM because the date disc is engaged in advancing and during this time you could damage the gears. Has anyone else heard something like this before?

[MP5]

Wow, so unnecessarily rude. I take it you didnt read or didnt understand Tools post? It was spot on, he went into the reason and the technicalities of how this works. Maybe "it is best" if you hear some people out.

[Jack T]

Not something I'm worried about today ;)

[RolexguyinSF]

Originally Posted by MP5

Wow, so unnecessarily rude. I take it you didnt read or didnt understand Tools post? It was spot on, he went into the reason and the technicalities of how this works. Maybe "it is best" if you hear some people out.

Yes, actually I read every response, including Tools. This is not rude, it's called being specific, instead of passing on nothing more than an opinion. Please take a moment to revisit them, most are non Rolex watch related responses (not much help to Jizeal who is asking about a Rolex), the rest are nothing but opinion and vague "maybe", "not sure" etc.

There are too many posters that throw out responses that are either inaccurate, wrong, or based on nothing more than something some other guy said somewhere in another forum, etc. Not very exact, to say the least.

I spoke to a RSC technician first hand at a authorized Rolex Service Center (which was recommended when I called the Rolex Bev Hills center, and told me to take it to their authorized service center) who told me this. He's worked with Rolex for decades, hands on, every day. If anyone here has better documented response, I'd love to see it posted. Otherwise it's just people passing along uninformed or inaccurate information.

[A.Sharp]

Originally Posted by Tools

No........ Your watchmaker is wrong... You do NOT need to worry about when you change the date on your Rolex...

It does NOT engage the date disk gears as on ETA and some other based movements. If you read an Omega manual, it specifically warns against this.. You won't find that warning in a Rolex manual.

Rolex uses a cam and lever for the date change.. Nothing is engaged, but when the main wheel reaches midnight a cam rolls into a slot releasing a spring loaded lever that slaps the date over one day.. thus, no gears to break..

Now one less thing for me to worry about. this sums it up ^

[Presa canary]

Maybe, I'm not sure. Hope this helps

[motoikkyu]

If you own any watches that are not Rolex, changing the date between 22 and 2 is a filthy and dangerous habit. You may not endanger your Rolex doing that, due to the technical reasons discussed, but that is no reason to become sloppy with all your watches.

[cornerstore]

Originally Posted by Tools

It does NOT engage the date disk gears as on ETA and some other based movements.
..

I wonder does that mean vintage Tudor watches have this issue as well or was it dealt with when the movements were modified by Rolex?

[lipjin]

Originally Posted by Tools

No........ Your watchmaker is wrong... You do NOT need to worry about when you change the date on your Rolex...

It does NOT engage the date disk gears as on ETA and some other based movements. If you read an Omega manual, it specifically warns against this.. You won't find that warning in a Rolex manual.

Rolex uses a cam and lever for the date change.. Nothing is engaged, but when the main wheel reaches midnight a cam rolls into a slot releasing a spring loaded lever that slaps the date over one day.. thus, no gears to break..

Thanks for the info- I read that it was mostly ETA movements with this date change issue