A quick-set date is a function that lets the wearer change the date without changing the time. Without it, moving the date forward means turning the hands through full cycles again and again. With it, the crown moves the date on directly, and the time stays as it is.
How does a quick-set date work?
To use it, you usually pull the crown out to its middle position. On a screw-down crown, this is often the first click. Pulling the crown to this intermediate position disconnects it from the normal setting path. Turning the crown then moves the date wheel directly, through a small intermediate wheel or a cam. The hands do not move, so the time is not disturbed. Analogue quartz watches work differently. They set the date electronically, either with the crown or with separate push-buttons.
When should you not use quick-set?
Quick-set works safely only when the watch’s own date-change gears are not engaged. For this reason, watchmakers advise against setting the date by hand between about 9 pm and 3 am. This window spans the hours either side of midnight. So before using quick-set, check the time the hands show, not just the date.
Where it comes from
The quick-set date appeared in the 1950s. It became common during the 1960s and 1970s. Omega, Longines and Rolex were among the first brands to use it. Rolex added Quickset to its Day-Date in 1977 with reference 18038. In 1988 it introduced a Double Quickset on Day-Date reference 18238. This sets the day and the date separately from each other and from the time. Today, quick-set dates are standard on most mechanical and quartz watches.
Not to be confused with
Quick-set is a way for the wearer to set the date. An instantaneous date change is something else. There, the date jumps on its own, exactly at midnight. The first is about how you set the date by hand. The second is about how the date moves by itself, with no one touching the crown.
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