Help setting hands on an Alarm + Date watch?

ErichKeane · Sep 3, 2025

Hi all-
I have a AS1568 that I'm ALMOST done, it just needs hands + casing done. However, I went to try to figure out how to get the hands on, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the hands set right!

On an AS1475 (no date) its pretty easy: You put the alarm hand on first arbitrarily, then spin the timeset backwards. It'll eventually 'pick up' alarm and time + alarm hand will move together. Then you just install the hour hand to match the alarm hand, and do the others to match.

However, you can't really do this when you have a date advance at the same time 😁 So I'm confused.

The ONLY idea I had was: lightly install the hour hand at date-change time, run it backwards until it goes back to midnight, remove hour hand, install alarm hand at midnight, then do the rest of the hand installs, but that seems like a strange extra few steps when there has to be an easier way!

Canuck · Sep 4, 2025

My understanding of your problem may be at fault. But I would try the job this way. With no hands on, advance the setting until the instant the calendar changes. Then put the hands on at 12:00. Then, wind the alarm and arm it. Then turn the hands ahead until the alarm rings. Take note of the time registered by the hands, remove the hands, and put the alarm hand on pointing to the time the hands indicated before you removed them. You may be out a few minutes, but what the heh! Then put the hands back on to indicate the time they indicated before you removed them. Report back once done.

ErichKeane · Sep 4, 2025

Canuck
My understanding of your problem may be at fault. But I would try the job this way. With no hands on, advance the setting until the instant the calendar changes. Then put the hands on at 12:00. Then, wind the alarm and arm it. Then turn the hands ahead until the alarm rings. Take note of the time registered by the hands, remove the hands, and put the alarm hand on pointing to the time the hands indicated before you removed them. You may be out a few minutes, but what the heh! Then put the hands back on to indicate the time they indicated before you removed them. Report back once done.

Yeah, thats effectively my 'only idea' listed above :/ Except since the 'feature' of the watch is that if you move the hands 'backwards', the 'ringing' moment 'catches' so they are synced. I suspect it isn't a feature so much as how alarms work. So it is "set hour/minute hand at date change, spin backwards until hour/minute hand indicate 12 again, pull hands, install all 3".

I was REALLY hoping there was some trick that folks here could help with 😁 The Omega Memomatic is similar (in that it has the date + alarm), but the videos I can find are not particularly helpful in explaining it, and it might work differently? OR folks are being smarter about setting it by 'eye' in advance.

Thanks for your help, I might just have to do as you suggest.

rendo · Sep 4, 2025

I think Canuck's answer makes a lot of sense. It would be easier if you could install the alarm hand on last like a Seiko bellmatic.

ErichKeane · Sep 4, 2025

rendo
I think Canuck's answer makes a lot of sense. It would be easier if you could install the alarm hand on last like a Seiko bellmatic.

Yeah, thats the annoying part 😁 All of the videos I watched on alarm movements are either the no-date models (the Poljot 2612 or the AS1475 on which the russian one is based), or the Seiko Bellmatics, which they were smarter about designing 😀

noless · Sep 8, 2025

I have a citizen 3102 that as far as i can tell was more or less a copy of the AS 1568.

For this one I first moved the time forward until the date changed, then I moved the alarm hand till i felt it click indicating that its engaged the alarm train, I then pressed on the alarm hand at 12:00, and then continued pressing on the hour minute and seconds as normal.

ErichKeane · Sep 8, 2025

noless
I have a citizen 3102 that as far as i can tell was more or less a copy of the AS 1568.

For this one I first moved the time forward until the date changed, then I moved the alarm hand till i felt it click indicating that its engaged the alarm train, I then pressed on the alarm hand at 12:00, and then continued pressing on the hour minute and seconds as normal.

Thanks! This is actually REALLY helpful! I ended up getting the alarm and date set both within ~3 minutes this way (or at least, close to it).

What I did was do the date change. Then move the alarm until it started buzzing (I put some wind into that part, rather than try to be good enough to feel it click into place). THEN I set the alarm hand at 12, and the hour/minute/second hand like normal.

I presume I'm slightly off due to the various errors along the way (and frankly, the date change over on this watch is not particularly consistent, I suspect the date wheel isn't perfect)but happy to get this project done! Thanks!

Meme-Dweller · Sep 8, 2025

O olivereid
Use a hand setting tool and apply minimal, vertical pressure. The last thing you want is to bend a pivot or scratch a dial you've just beautifully restored.

I can promise you this AI shitposting account is going to end up trying to scam someone on here eventually.

ErichKeane · Sep 8, 2025

Meme-Dweller
I can promise you this AI shitposting account is going to end up trying to scam someone on here eventually.

Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is suspicious of that. Its about the most dumb response to this thread possible while still being vaguely on topic. I hope mods/etc keep an eye on that account when it hits 200.

I wonder if there is value in a "mark this user as suspicious" feature to the forum that would show up when someone is trying to buy/list something...

JimInOz · Sep 9, 2025

O olivereid
Use a hand setting tool and apply minimal, vertical pressure. The last thing you want is to bend a pivot or scratch a dial you've just beautifully restored.