What is a watch crown?
The knob on the side of the case used to wind the watch and set the time and date.
Crown positions
Most crowns have up to three positions. Pushed in, position 0, turning it winds a manual or most automatic movements. Pulled to the first click, it usually sets the date, or the GMT hand on a flyer GMT. Pulled to the second click, it sets the time, and on most modern mechanical watches it also stops the seconds hand, called hacking, so you can set the time to the second.
Quartz watches use the crown only for setting. Don't wind or set any watch while it's wet, and on a mechanical date watch avoid changing the date between about 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Screw-down crowns
A screw-down crown threads onto a tube in the case and seals it with gaskets, which is why dive watches have them. Unscrew it anticlockwise until it pops out before winding or setting, and screw it back in gently, pushing in as you turn, every time. Forgetting to screw it down is the most common way divers let water in.
Placement and guards
Crowns normally sit at 3 o'clock. Some watches move them to 4 o'clock so they don't dig into the back of your hand, and 'destro' watches put them on the left for left-handed wearers. Crown guards, shoulders on the case either side of the crown, protect it from knocks.
Questions
- Should I wind an automatic watch with the crown?
- Yes, if it has stopped: 20 to 40 turns gets it running and partly wound. Some automatics, such as many Seiko 7S and 4R models, wind only through wrist movement, and others can't be hand-wound at all.
- What is a screw-down crown?
- A crown that screws onto the case to seal it against water. It must be unscrewed before you can set or wind the watch.