# What is this weird dial on my pocket watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359 "2003-06-17T02:11:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BellaVoce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@BellaVoce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaVoce)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/1 "2003-06-17T02:11:45Z")
This isn’t really a Straight Dope calibour question, but it’s driving me crazy, and I can’t find this information anywhere on the internet. I just got a new pocket watch for my birthday. The brand name (or is it a model name?) is “Majesti”. It has a little dial on the face. It looks like it should be for seconds, but it shows hours. It’s divided into 24. It moves along with the hour and minute hands, and I can’t change it’s position relative to them. It is 10:15p right now, and it is on the ‘3’. It isn’t GMT, since it’s a mechanical watch, and obviously can’t be adjusted between time zones. Any idea what it is? It’s driving me crazy. I can take a picture and post it, if necessary. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/2 "2003-06-17T02:22:42Z")
Happy birthday. Yeah, a picture might help. Didn’t the watch come with instructions? I’ve Googled, and Majesti is the brand name of the watch, but I’ve not found one with a dial like you describe. Try not pulling the stem out fully and turning it. I have a watch with a date dial in it, and to set that separately from the time, you pull the stem out partway, to the first detent. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/3 "2003-06-17T02:28:38Z")
Is this your watch? [http://www.specialtygiftitems.com/category/watches/pocket/Majesti/MAJ10564.html](http://www.specialtygiftitems.com/category/watches/pocket/Majesti/MAJ10564.html) ---
**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:** [June 17, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/4 "2003-06-17T02:32:31Z")
I think he’s describing something like [this](http://www.specialtygiftitems.com/category/watches/pocket/SLR/140208.html). The smaller dial in this photo is for seconds, but the one he is describing is marked off in 24 segments, instead of 60. ---
**Author:** ![Happyjoelucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Happyjoelucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happyjoelucky)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/5 "2003-06-17T02:42:30Z")
It could quite possibly be an alarm. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/6 "2003-06-17T03:17:31Z")
Hmmm…my guess is it si a 24 hour clock embedded in the normal 12 hour watch face if the link **Q.E.D.** is close to the real deal. I am really surprised that you can’t adjust that dial on the watch. If you adjust the main hands does the smaller dial move with it? ---
**Author:** ![zippyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/839c29/32.png) [@zippyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zippyh)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/7 "2003-06-17T03:32:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BellaVoce \* > \*\*This isn’t really a Straight Dope calibour question, but it’s driving me crazy, and I can’t find this information anywhere on the internet. > > I just got a new pocket watch for my birthday. The brand name (or is it a model name?) is “Majesti”. It has a little dial on the face. It looks like it should be for seconds, but it shows hours. It’s divided into 24. It moves along with the hour and minute hands, and I can’t change it’s position relative to them. It is 10:15p right now, and it is on the ‘3’. It isn’t GMT, since it’s a mechanical watch, and obviously can’t be adjusted between time zones. Any idea what it is? It’s driving me crazy. I can take a picture and post it, if necessary. \*\* Actually, there are many mechanical GMT/multi timezone watches. Rolex GMT, Omega Seamaster GMT, etc. Typically, with a mechanical multi timezone watch pulling the crown out to the first detent will allow you to adjust the 2nd TZ hand. Actually, it’ll allow you to adjust the 12hour hand, not the 24hour hand. Sometimes there’s a little pusher that will advance the hand. Look for a little button like indent on the side of the case somewhere. Use a ball point pen or some other small pointy object to poke it. There are some watches which have a 24 hour dial which is tied to the main hour hand. So when it’s 10pm the 24 hour dial will show 22. The Omega Speedmaster automatic has this feature. But this seems unlikely on your watch since it shows 3 at 10. ---
**Author:** ![BellaVoce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@BellaVoce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaVoce)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/8 "2003-06-17T09:41:28Z")
Okay, I took a couple pictures. ([Pic1](http://members.aol.com/MatthewDR/watch1.jpg) | [Pic2](http://members.aol.com/MatthewDR/watch2.jpg)) The dial in question is the one in the upper left. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/9 "2003-06-17T09:53:50Z")
That appears to be just a 24-hour clock. In the picture, the main hands are coming up to 6, and the 24-hour clock’s also coming up to 6 - it’s therefore reading 6am. When it’s 6pm, it’ll say 18. It’s so’s you can talk about time to us Europeans (actually, in Ireland and the UK we use both systems - usually 24-hour written, but 12-hour spoken). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/10 "2003-06-17T09:57:44Z")
Hmm, on further examination I see that I’m wrong - it’s approaching 12 on the little dial, isn’t it? That makes me think that it is what I think it is, but that it’s been set wrong against the 12-hour clock. A jeweller should be able to sort this out for you. Or have you tried pulling the winder out really far, or pushing it in, to see if it engages a different mechanism. Nice watch, by the way! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/11 "2003-06-17T10:03:44Z")
By the way, when you posted the OP, it was indeed 3am here - but we’re not on GMT at the moment, we’re on GMT+1 (daylight savings). By the way, don’t rely on the definition of GMT given by the SDMB server, as it’s currently out by one hour. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/12 "2003-06-17T10:07:56Z")
I found this in a [glossary](http://www.luxury-line.com/watch-brands/world-of-watches/glossary.htm) of watchmaking terms. > [@](#): > > 12-hour (24-hour) recorder (or register): A sub-dial on a chronograph (see chronograph) that can time periods of up to 12 or 24 hours. So I guess the question now is how, if at all, to reset it. It’s just possible that you can’t, in which case you have to remember where it started from. It’d be a shame though if you couldn’t, as it could just as easily be used to keep time in another time zone when abroad, for example. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/13 "2003-06-17T10:11:28Z")
Another thought. If there is no other way of setting it, you could at least synchronise it with the other hands by letting it run down to a complete stop, setting the hands to the same time as the extra dial and then winding it up again at the precise moment that this coincides with real time. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/14 "2003-06-17T10:18:23Z")
Oops. Just read my last post but one properly. As someone is probably about to point out, your watch isn’t a chronograph (stopwatch), so I reckon jjimm’s right about it being a 24-hour clock (to save people in continental Europe the trouble of having to calculate 15:00 from 3 PM. Could still be useful for showing time in another part of the world though. Having said that, my suggestion above for setting it still stands. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/15 "2003-06-17T10:20:42Z")
Oh bl\*\*dy hell. I’m full of crap today. The two dials are linked of course… Okay, enough posting for today, I’m off to bang my head against a wall for a couple of hours. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/16 "2003-06-17T10:23:12Z")
Well, **trabi** (great location, by the way - I’ve read the book and loved it), your glossary entry does make it look like it’s some kind of long-term quite innacurate stopwatch. Good for timing one’s carriage ride or whatever - it being of that era. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/17 "2003-06-18T02:36:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Good for timing one’s carriage ride or whatever - it being of that era. What era are you referring too? It’s almost certainly a watch made since WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/18 "2003-06-18T12:29:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, there are many mechanical GMT/multi timezone watches. Rolex GMT, Omega Seamaster GMT, etc. [Here](http://pw1.netcom.com/~heliboy/watches/gmt.jpg) is an example of a mechanical watch with a seperate 24-hour hand. The red hand on the GMT Master II is adjustable independent of the other hands. (The GMT Master’s 24-hour hand was not individually adjustable and you’d set GMT by rotating the bezel. I like the newer version better.) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/19 "2003-06-18T14:30:34Z")
I am not familiar with the brand name Majesti, but my parents are antique dealers, with my father specializing in pocket watches, so I have been around them for a while and have had a few myself. Also, I have a mechanical wristwatch with a very similar feature. So, not an expert, but know enough to be dangerous, okay? My observations: 1. It appears to be a second time zone and it should be adjustable - I notice in your first picture that around the edge of the case, at about 4:30, there appears to be an inset red button. If I am seeing a button there correctly (it could just be a reflection), it could very likely be the thing - pull out the stem so you could adjust the main hands, then depress the red button and, while holding down that button, try turning the stem again - that should move the second time zone hand. 2. If that really was just a relection, then alternative places to “engage” the second time zone might be: a) a button on top of the stem - depress it when trying to set the time; b) a button somewhere else along the edge; c) an inset button somewhere around the edge of the watchface; or d) in the back, when you open the back of the watch to see the movement. 3. I in no way wish to dis this watch - but do you know how much it cost? If it was not expensive - say, less than $150, that second time zone may not truly be functional and be there more to look nice. I say this because the feature at the bottom of the “triangle” (between the 5 & 7 on the watch, with a cross-bar) looks like a “tourbillon” - which is a super, super fancy complication only on the MOST expensive mechanical watches - say $10,000 and up). If this watch was not that expensive, then it may serve another function I don’t know about (very possible) or may just be there to look nice. If it IS there to look nice, then that may be the case with the second time-zone feature, too. My $.02 - hope it helps. ---
**Author:** ![Hobie\_the\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@Hobie\_the\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hobie_the_One)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359/20 "2003-06-18T16:27:43Z")
**BellaVoce** , Don’t look if this watch was a gift because there is a price listed. [Here is a link to the specific model](http://www.specialtygiftitems.com/category/watches/pocket/SLR/140262.html) which oddly shows that the small dial seems to be a 24 hour hand. This is still unconfirmed and don’t anybody send **Bricker** after any of my fingers yet.😃 Perhaps to set it, you need to set the hours to twelve hours ahead so that it “catches” the 24 hour hand? Still looking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-dial-on-my-pocket-watch/182359.md?page=2)