Mechanical Watch: Should set the hour and minute hands to around 6 o'clock before manually adjusting the date.
There is a very common saying/advice in the watch community (especially among owners of mechanical/automatic watches with a date complication) that you should set the hour and minute hands to around 6 o'clock ( or somewhere in the lower half of the dial, like 5:30–6:30 ) before manually adjusting the date. This is precisely to prevent potential damage to the movement. Why This Advice Exists (The "Danger Zone") Most mechanical watches (especially those with quick-set date via the crown) have a period when the internal date-change mechanism is engaged or "in motion": This is typically called the "danger zone" or "death zone" . It usually spans roughly 9 PM to 3 AM (or sometimes 8 PM to 4 AM, depending on the movement; some are 10 PM to 2 AM). During these hours, delicate gears, levers, and springs are actively preparing to flip the date wheel forward at midnight (or gradually advancing it). If you pull the crown to the date-setting...