# I want a Mars watch! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 13, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282 "2004-01-13T18:52:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/1 "2004-01-13T18:52:14Z")
This has no practical value whatsoever, but it’s so cool it _hurts._ KnowhutImean? According to [this article](http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/spotlight/spirit/a3_20040108.html), the Mars rover team at NASA needed a means of keeping in sync with the planet’s day/night cycle, which is slightly longer than Earth’s. They contacted a bunch of timepiece experts to see how hard it would be to get a customized watch or other device that would allows its users to match their schedule with the Mars standard of 24 hours, 39 minutes, and some-odd seconds, so their team members don’t have to engage in the headache-inducing manual figuring required to set alarms and otherwise adjust their schedules 39 minutes further back every day. Everyone they called said no, it’s too difficult, we’d need a minimum order of some ridiculous number to make it worthwhile, etc. Then they got a hold of a mechanical watchmaker and repair guy who owns his own shop; he spent a bunch of time talking to his people and tinkering, and he came up with a way to weight the works of a mechanical watch that keeps them within a few seconds of the 24:39 cycle every day. He’s making a bunch for the team, and he says he feels hugely proud when he visits the control room or looks on TV and sees people wearing two watches: one Earth, one Mars. And here’s the best part: [The watchmaker’s website](http://www.executivejewelers.com) has details on how you can get one yourself. There are [three different brands](http://executivejewelers.com/mars): Orient, Seiko, and Citizen. They don’t have the fancy customized Mars face yet, but that’s coming soon. For a price tag of $145 to $195 (plus $35 for the special dial when it’s available), you can get yourself a watch that keeps local Mars time. As I said, there is absolutely no practical reason why someone like me would need something like this, but I don’t care. It’s just _cool._ It’s a fair amount of money for a watch, but hey, how many ten-thousand-dollar Rolexes tell time on _Mars?_ Garo Anserlian, master watchmaker, I salute you. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Drogulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Drogulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drogulus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/2 "2004-01-13T19:24:20Z")
The planetarium in Philadelphia had a clock that kept Mars time back in the 50’s. See Mars Clock. ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/3 "2004-01-13T22:20:49Z")
Damn you **Cervaise** , now I must have one. That is very cool. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/4 "2004-01-14T00:47:01Z")
If you’re interested in keeping Mars time but don’t have the bucks for a watch, you can download [Mars24](http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/), a nifty bit of cross-platform freeware. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/5 "2004-01-14T04:16:32Z")
“Garo Anserlian” is a pretty cool name for a Martian watchmaker, too. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/6 "2004-01-14T05:58:17Z")
A Mars watch would indeed be very cool, but why do some of them have the date on them? Mars’s year is longer so of course the dates aren’t going to correspond at all. Wait, that’s what we need… A Mars Calendar!! Let’s make up some month names! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/7 "2004-01-14T06:32:32Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > A Mars Calendar!! > > Let’s make up some month names! Well, Mars revolves around the sun in 686.98 Earth days, or about 669 Mars days, making the Martian year 1.88 times longer than ours. Only 3 goes into 669 evenly, so we could have 3 months of 223 days each, or 223 months of three days each. Of course you can divide them up into different length months like ours are. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/8 "2004-01-14T06:51:17Z")
Huh. Looks like [someone beat us to it.](http://www.12x30.net/martian.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-a-mars-watch/224282/9 "2004-01-14T19:07:01Z")
One of Zubrin’s books devotes most of a chapter to telling time and measuring dates. It’s [less complicated than you’d expect](http://pweb.jps.net/~tgangale/mars/other/thomas_frm.htm), though I must say I like the alternative in Q.E.D.'s link better. > [@sunfish](#): > > If you’re interested in keeping Mars time but don’t have the bucks for a watch, you can download [Mars24](http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/), a nifty bit of cross-platform freeware. But… but… I can’t wear it on my wrist! I want a watch! _(whine, whine)_ 😉 I guess having something like this on a Palm or PocketPC or something would be okay, but the watch is just extra cool in some ineffable way.