Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 11th, 2018 at 2AM and ends onSunday, November 4th, 2018 at 2AM EST. Here’s how to roll your mechanical watch ahead an hour—and some fun facts about daylight saving time and why the US implements it.

What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of adjusting your clocks—an hour ahead in the summer and then an hour back in the fall– to take better advantage of summer’s daylight hours.

Is it daylight savings or daylight saving?
It’s daylight saving, singular. Daylight savings is a misnomer.

When is daylight saving time for 2018?
Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 11th, 2018 at 2AM EST and ends on Sunday, November 4th, 2018 at 2AM EST.

When and why was daylight saving time invented?
Daylight saving time was proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. While serving as the ambassador to France, Franklin woke at 6AM to many people still in bed with their shutters closed tight to block out the blinding sunlight. In turn, Franklin penned a satirical article and floated the idea of adjusting schedules to take advantage of the sunlight and long summer days.

However, Franklin didn’t exactly suggest the “spring ahead, fall back” time changes we’re familiar with today; instead, he suggested using a booming cannon to rouse the city at an appointed time.

It wasn’t until 1895 that New Zealand entomologist George Hudson saw the practical benefit in Franklin’s humorous article. Englishmen William Willett also became an advocate for DST and wrote his pamphlet “The Waste of Daylight” in 1907. But neither Hudson nor Willett’s proposals were able to gain significant traction.

Then, amidst World War I in 1916, Germany adopted DST in an effort to preserve coal supplies and cut down energy costs. England similarly introduced British summer time and 31 other nations (US included) implemented DST during wartime to take advantage of the summer daylight hours. These countries adjusted their clocks back to standard time once the war ended.

When World War II broke out in 1939, the US adopted year-round DST for three years when it became optional for states to opt-in to DST. Because some states implemented year-round DST and others didn’t, the US introduced the Uniform Time Act in 1966 that set the start and end of DST.

How do I roll my automatic or mechanical watch ahead an hour?
To set your watch’s time, simply pull the crown out to the furthest position from the watch base. When the crown is in this last position, the second hand stops to help you accurately set the time.

Gently turn the crown clockwise (or away from you) until you set the correct time. If you overshoot your desired time, do not turn the crown counter-clockwise to go back. Turning the crown counter-clockwise will force and damage the watch’s movement. Instead you will have to continue winding clockwise until you come back around to the correct time again.

Once you have the time correctly set, press the crown back into its “zero” position near the base of the watch. Then screw the crown down to ensure that it is pressurized and watertight.

But these directions vary slightly from model to model, brand to brand. To help you update the time, here are the official user guides and steps to set the time for the most popular watches and watch models:

• Rolex (All Models)
• Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore 
• Breitling (All Models)
• Omega (All Models) 
• Cartier (All Models) 

Oops, I overshot the time and now need to change the date on my automatic or mechanical watch.
Mechanical watches typically have three positions for the crown, each designated for a different winding functionality. The first is for winding your watch but the second position allows you to quickly change the watch’s date. Pull the crown out to the second position and turn the crown clockwise until you reach the correct date.

To learn more about how to wind your watch, read our post, “How to Set Your Watch” here.