Adjusting the date on your Annual Calendar Chronograph
The Day/Night display in the minute counter at 12 o’clock is a great aid in adjusting the date. It indicates whether the watch shows the day (white) or night hours (black). When the Day/Night display is indicating night hours (loosely from 6:30 pm to 6:30 am), the mechanism driving the calendar is activated.
In order to preserve the gear wheels, no fast adjustment should take place when any of the night sector is visible in the Day/Night display.
If the date needs to be corrected by just one day
1. Gently pull the crown from its fully-in (winding) position against the case to its first outward (first click) and then second outward (second click) position.
2. Gently wind the crown anti-clockwise to advance the hands. Date changes occur when the dark “night” sector shows in the Day/Night display (at the end of a short month two date changes occur between 11 pm and 6 am). Continue to adjust the hands to the desired time, then gently push the crown back two clicks to its original winding position. Job done.
If the date needs to be corrected by more than one day
You can rapidly advance the date by using its fast correction feature:
1. Gently pull the crown from its fully-in (winding) position against the case to its first outward (first click) and then second outward (second click) position.
2. Adjust the hands clockwise to 10:30 am as indicated by the white (day) sector in the Day/Night display.
3. Push the crown inward one click and gently wind the crown clockwise to advance the date with the date adjustment mechanism. Continue to gently advance the date until the date shown is one day before the required date.
4. Gently pull the crown outward again to its second position and wind the crown anti-clockwise so the hands advance though the “night” and in doing so change the date to the date required. Note that at the end of a short month, this date change is extended and occurs in two steps between 11 pm and 6 am.
5. Continue to adjust the hands to the desired time, then gently push the crown back by two clicks to its original winding position. Job done.
When your watch is running, the time taken for the date to change will vary as there is a longer date changeover at the end of the short months. This longer change is due to our decision to use a small radius for the driving finger to minimise the force required for the month change and thus spread it over a longer time-frame. By doing it this way, the watch maintains a higher balance amplitude – and therefore better time-keeping.