A Gentle Question About Clockwork?

Many years ago, I was told that one should never wind a clockwork clock (or watch) backwards.

Was this an Old Wives' Tale or an urban myth?

I have a battery watch, it has hour, minute and sweep second hands and a date window. Last Sunday (the reversion of BST to GMT) I wound the watch forward eleven hours rather than back one hour.

I subsequently noticed that the date was changing at noon rather than midnight! So I have wound it forward another twelve hours and now all seems to be OK.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

In general this applies if the motion drives a cam to ring alarms or change the date. Depending on the shape of the cam, winding backwards might cause damage. However if you're well away from the cam I don't think it will do any harm, so winding your watch backwards at noon should be ok. Always works on mine.

Clocks that strike or chime should really only be wound forwards. Also alarm clocks. Watches with days dates etc are better wound forwards. Pure timepieces can be wound back. I just stop mine for one hour.

Does anyone still use sundials?

Mechanical watches usually have two positions of the winder spindle to separate the time adjustment from the date adjustment; and these seem capable of being set either way.

A striking and chiming clock is set by turning the hands and this should be done only forwards, though I don't think you need let it ring the chimes at each point.

My electronic analogue alarm clock does need both the time and alarm settings wound in particular directions but they are marked by arrows.

My watch is electronic analogue too, but setting the day and date is so difficult and fiddly I don't bother, and simply ignore what it displays! It can't readily be stopped for an hour.

At least my car clock is now correct. In Summer I have to remember to read it forwards! Using spectrum and impedance analysers at work was one thing, Operating car and domestic electronic gadgets is quite another, of arcanity that would impress the fabled Illuminati!

I would concur with the above to either stop the clock or adjust forward. It does depend very much on the individual clock. Some clocks including striking clocks have provision to protect themselves against retro movement of the hands but unless you are intimately acquainted with the movement it would be bad practice to adjust backwards. Even when such safeguards are in place with clocks they generally are there to catch the occasional misuse. Mechanical watches are a different case as many as has been said employ a disengagement of the hands by pulling the winder outward and where a date ring is fitted backwards motion is sometimes employed to fast adjust said ring.

Good question.

regards Martin

Edited By Martin Kyte on 18/11/2022 08:56:03

as the original poster stated it was a battery powered watch (one asumes quartz), all the quartz watches I have ever come across that have analogue dials only need moving forwards or backwards to adjust to BST or GMT.

All have had a two position winding stem (adjustment stem on Quartz watches), where the first position is used to alter day/date, second position to set time.

Why would you wind on 11 hours to adjust for 1 hour backwards?

The date would only need adjusting at the end of a non 31 day month unless you are lucky enough to own a watch with a perpetual calendar i.e accounts for non 31 day months.