Is it safe to set the time counter clockwise?

Yes, you can go backwards.

Thanks for the response 🤗

Don’t quick set the date between like 10pm to 2am. That can mess up the auto date flip mechanism.

Personally… I usually move time forward (but that’s my personal preference).

I always move it forward and just keep the routine, so as not to do something silly by accident since I don't normally go backwards. Just habit at this point.

should be fine as long as it's not around midnight, which might mess up the date function

Thank you all for the responses. I guess to be safe, i will just do it the hard way. Set it to 6:30, move the date to the previous day, run the hands past midnight, then set the time to dubai's local time.

If you read the manual which comes with some watches, like my Breitling, it actually tells you to go past the tim,a bit, and then go backwards to set it. Something to do with picking up any potential slack or movement in the hands.

Yep my iwc manual says the same thing. But its only a few minutes backwards. I'm concerned with moving 4 hours backward. I wonder if that would somehow break something?

My rolex didnt come with a manual though. My dad handed it down to me and the box it came with only has a card, a booklet thats not a manual, and hangtag. Hehe. Maybe it's an online manual.

It’s typically recommended to go forward, yet in all my years collecting I’ve never heard of any ill effects from someone spinning it back a few hours. If I’m within a few hours, I spin it backwards. Been doing it for years and never noticed any difference in any of my watches from doing so.

There are some complications which aren't designed to go backwards (spring loaded quickest dates being the most common example, but also 'digital displays', complicated calendars, etc).

But even at a finer level, on simple three handed movements, some gear wheel teeth may not be symetrical and/or are designed to push, rather than be pushed. At the very least, you'll be engaging surfaces (back sides of teeth) which get little or no normal wear. Harmless in most cases, but stress, friction and movement on very small components which they're not designed to take.

The most mechanically sympathetic approach is, as you've suggested; set the time to a safe point so you can set the date a day early, then advance the movement as it's designed to the correct time and date.

Thanks for the input from personal experience🤗

Better safe than sorry 💯

Cheers mate, that was excellently written 🍻

Yes, though my Rolexes want to resist going backwards. They're "stiff".