On most vintage Omegas with a date, you pull the crown out one click and turn it. Not on all of them. Omega's own winding and setting chart sorts its mechanical calibres into ten crown systems, A to J: some set the date by turning the crown one way only, some by turning the hands back and forth, one by pressing the crown in. Find your calibre below and set it the way the factory says.
Quick answers
- Where do I start? With the calibre number. Type it in the box below.
- Which way do I turn? It depends on the system. Two of them, G and I, move the date one way only.
- Why does the date change at noon? The hands are 12 hours out. Turn them on 12 hours.
- Can I hurt it? Forcing the crown can. If it resists, stop.
The crown positions
Omega's chart numbers the crown positions with Roman figures. Every system winds in position I.
If your crown screws down, unscrew it first. The Seamaster 600 Professional, calibre 1002, has a double-sealed crown drawn in by a bolt screw (Technical Guide No. 47, 1971).
Find your calibre's system
Don't know the calibre? It is stamped on the movement. Or type the case reference from inside the caseback into the free reference lookup.
All ten systems
As printed on Omega's winding and setting chart. The calibres column is the chart's own grouping.
| System | Date | Time | Calibres |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | No calendar on the chart | Pull to II and turn the hands | 161 to 540, 550 to 552, 570 to 591, 600 to 601, 620 to 690, 700, 710 to 712, 730, 830, 860 to 930, 960, 1035, 1060, 1070, 1100, 1140 |
| B | Pull the crown from II out to III, and back; repeat until the date is right | Pull to II and turn the hands | 563 to 565, 613 |
| C | Pull from II out to III, and back. Day: at II, turn the hands round 24 hours, either way | Pull to II and turn the hands | 750 to 752 |
| D | At II, turn the hands clockwise to 12:00, back to 9:00, then clockwise again: the date moves on each pass | Pull to II and turn the hands | 560 to 562, 610 to 611 |
| E | Pull to II and turn the crown either way | Pull to III and turn the hands; the seconds hand stops | 1000 to 1012, 1030 |
| F | At II, turn the crown either way. Day: at III, turn the hands counterclockwise (day quick-set) | Pull to III and turn the hands; the seconds hand stops | 1020 to 1022 |
| G | At II, turn the crown clockwise | Pull to III and turn the hands | 1040 to 1041 |
| H | At II, turn the crown clockwise. Day: at II, turn it counterclockwise | Pull to III and turn the hands; the seconds hand stops | 1045 |
| I | At II, turn the crown counterclockwise | Pull to III and turn the hands; the seconds hand stops | 1108 to 1111 |
| J | Press the crown in, like a push button, from position I | Pull to II and turn the hands | 1480 to 1481 |
The calibre 980, automatic with alarm, has no system on the chart. Its 1972 guide shows a separate date corrector, and the crown pulled out sets the time. Ranges such as 161 to 540 are the chart's own: if your watch in a wide range shows a date, the chart does not cover how to set it.
Four systems, E, F, H and I, stop the seconds hand while you set the time, so you can set it to the second. On the others, the seconds hand keeps running.
Setting the date and time, step by step
- Wind it first in position I, so it's running while you set it.
- Set the date the way your system says, to yesterday's date.
- Set the time by turning the hands forward until the date jumps to today. That's midnight.
- Keep turning to the time now. In the afternoon, go round once more, past noon.
- Push the crown back in to position I, and screw it down if it screws.
On a system D calibre, the 560 to 562 and 610 and 611, the date is set with the hands, so steps 2 and 3 are one. Technical Guide No. 16 gives the 561's method: turn the hands back until the date first changes, then four turns forward and four back for each day.
Our practice, not a line from Omega's chart: the date change is slow. Technical Guide No. 16 says the 561's takes about two hours, from soon after 10 pm to midnight. Before you set the date directly from the crown, move the hands to about 6 o'clock, so the calendar isn't part-way through a change.
Questions owners ask
Why won't my date change?
First check your calibre's system. On a system A calibre the chart shows no calendar. On G and I the date moves one way only, so turn the crown the other way. If nothing moves in any position, the calendar needs a watchmaker: don't force the crown.
Why does my date change at noon?
The hands are set 12 hours out. Turn the hands on 12 hours, through one date change, and set the time again. The date then changes around midnight.
Which vintage Omega calibres have a quick-set date?
On Omega's chart, systems B, C, E, F, G, H, I and J set the date directly from the crown. System D, the 560 to 562 and 610 and 611, sets it by turning the hands back and forth. System A shows no calendar.
When does the date change?
Around midnight, but not all at once. Technical Guide No. 16 says the calibre 561's date change takes about two hours, from soon after 10 pm to midnight.
Where do I find my calibre number?
It is stamped on the movement, under the caseback. If you can't open it, the case reference inside the back gives it: type that into the reference lookup.
Can I see the parts that do this?
The 565 is a system B calibre. Our 565 films take it apart and put it back together in bench order, with the factory number on every part. Or strip one yourself at The Bench, free.
Sources: Omega's mechanical movement winding and setting instructions (crown systems A to J by calibre); Technical Guide No. 16, calibre 561 (1960); Omega technical guides for the calibres 1040 and 980 (1972) and 1000 to 1002 (1970); Technical Guide No. 47 (1971). See also how to wind a vintage Seamaster and how to wind a Speedmaster.
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