Rolex Date Change Tolerance [Complete Guide]

Rolex Date Change Tolerance [Complete Guide]

All Rolex watches with a date function are built to change the date automatically as the day is over and it becomes a new day. The natural thing is of course that the date changes exactly at midnight when there is a new date. And Rolex constructs its movements so that they change the date at midnight.

But since you’re here, you’re probably aware of the fact that not all Rolex watches change the date exactly at midnight. The fact of the matter is that not all Rolex watches change date exactly at midnight. This leads us to ask the question: what is the Rolex date change tolerance? How long time before or after midnight can be accepted that the date changes? And when does an early or late date change become too great to be considered acceptable? And perhaps more importantly, does poor date change accuracy of your Rolex watch mean that the watch has some kind of issue that requires servicing?

Let’s go through all of these questions and discuss Rolex date change tolerances.

Rolex watches and date change tolerance

The fact of the matter is that Rolex does not actually specify the date change accuracy of its watches. Nowhere does Rolex state or promise that Rolex’s watches will change the date exactly at midnight. With that said, Rolex does not specify any sort of date change tolerance of what would be acceptable.

At the same time, Rolex is a company that is all about accuracy and precision. Therefore, its movements are constructed to change the date at 12 o’clock. But due to the nature of complicated mechanical wristwatches – and watchmaking by hand, it’s difficult to achieve a 100% accuracy, even if Rolex does everything they can to achieve it.

When it comes to date change of Rolex watches, Rolex’s movements are constructed in a way so that the date snaps over immediately rather than slowly rolling over to change the date. This is known as an “instantaneous date”.

The issue with the latter is that for some watches, it can take some time for this to occur which doesn’t look too good when the date has only changed halfway. Consequently, watches that change the date by rolling tend to start the change process earlier than midnight so that the process is completed once it becomes midnight.

With all of this said, many Rolex watches that come directly from the factory will change the date at exactly 12 o’clock. But not all of them will.

Rolex instantaneous date change issue

Rolex watches have instantaneous date change and are meant to change the date immediately rather than slowly roll over. But they are also mechanical pieces of engineering, which may sometimes mean that they don’t perform 100% exactly as they should for a number of different reasons. Even if Rolex movements are considered to have amongst the best performance in the industry.

Some people experience issues with the instantaneous date change of their watches. In other words, rather than instantly changing the date, their watch rolls the date over in a slower manner. People who have this issue will usually experience that the date on their watch changes gradually over the course of a few hours.

When this happens, it is usually considered an issue or flaw, albeit a small issue in most people’s views. But if it’s something that you find annoying or that you regard as an issue then it is advised that you take it to a Rolex retailer and they will be able to assist. This is usually an issue that is covered under the 5-year international warranty (assuming your watch is not older than 5 years and you still have the original warranty card).

If you want to try to resolve this issue yourself, you can try a few methods and see if the issue disappears. One reason that your watch has this issue could be that the oils and lubricants inside the movement are not properly spread out. It may also depend on the fact that your movement has extra oil on the backside of the date wheel which affects its ability to change the date rapidly to the next.

Therefore, try cycling through the dates for one or two months and engage the crown in a few different ways to get the oils moving. Now, wait for a few days and see if the issue still persists.

Some people also experience the issue of the sticking date on a few of the month’s dates. If this sounds like your watch, run through all the dates and find the ones that stick. Now, move the hour hand a few times back and forth through midnight to cycle in both directions. Repeat this as necessary depending on how many dates you have issues with.

This will usually solve the issue, but if the issue still persists, it is a relatively easy fix by a Rolex watchmaker. They will assess the movement, assess what may be causing it, and then rectify it. Usually, all it takes is for them to remove some of the oil. Note that any experienced watchmaker will be able to solve it, but if your watch is still covered under warranty, you won’t be charged for the fix.

Why do not all Rolex watches change the date at midnight?

The answer to this question is rather complicated. As we could expect of course. We’re talking about a complicated mechanism consisting of hundreds of parts.

Firstly, there are several reasons why the date on your Rolex watch may not change exactly at midnight.

Mounting of the hands

But when it comes to the technical aspect of the date change, the precision of the date change actually takes place when installing the hands. The watchmaker normally turns the crown until the date switches. After this, they install the hands at the 12 o’clock position. This way, they can achieve the best precision and alignment. But considering the fact that a day consists of 24 hours, it’s obvious that it doesn’t take much to place the hands in a way that it changes a few minutes before or after this. In other words, it is for the most part a matter of precision when mounting the hands.

If your Rolex watch has been serviced by a non-Rolex watchmaker (third-party watchmaker) and it doesn’t change within at least a few minutes, then it is not about the precision of Rolex or their watches. It’s about the precision and diligence of the watchmaker who serviced it.

New Rolex watches vs serviced watches

It’s important to bear in mind that there is a difference between new watches where the movement has been untouched since they were built and installed by Rolex and watches that have been serviced afterward.

In the Rolex factory, Rolex applies the highest level of precision when mounting the hands to ensure that the date change occurs as closely at 12 o’clock as possible. But when a watch is serviced, the watch is completely disassembled, cleaned, and lubricated. Therefore, the accuracy of the date change will be at the mercy of the watchmaker who serviced it, not Rolex. 

Having said that, the accuracy of the date change will ultimately depend on how meticulous the watchmaker was in setting the hands and testing the date change accuracy before returning the watch. To a great extent, it is the skill and accuracy of the watchmaker who is responsible for the precision of the date change.

The nature of the spring

It is a spring inside the movement that regulates the changing of the dates. Since the spring is a piece of mechanics, there is always room for differences and slight variations depending on a number of factors, including how the spring works together with the rest of the hundreds of parts that make up the movement. As such, there’s always room for small amounts of deviation from midnight depending on the spring’s action.

The watch doesn’t know when it is midnight, but instead when the hour wheel has made 24 revolutions. When this happens, the spring mechanism pushes the date wheel to the next cog as a result of developed tension which forces the date wheel to the next position. It is ultimately this build-up of tension that will make the watch change the date.

Rolex date change tolerance

Rolex watches are built to change the date at exactly midnight, but as discussed, there are a number of different factors that may affect the accuracy. It’s not unusual for the date change of a Rolex watch to be a few minutes off. In fact, many of them are. This is particularly true if your watch is old and has been serviced throughout its lifetime.

Whilst Rolex doesn’t specify when the date should change, the brand does advise Rolex watchmakers that the date should change between 11:59 pm and 12:01 am. With this said, this can be regarded as the official Rolex date change tolerance for a new Rolex watch or a freshly serviced watch. As long as your Rolex watch changes date within at least a few minutes from midnight, you can be happy with the performance.

But if your watch is a few years old or has been serviced by someone else other than Rolex, it’s not unusual for the date change to be a few minutes off. Even Rolex watchmakers can make mistakes and not get it 100% correct.