News
Resetting Clocks and Watches for Daylight Saving Time
What time is it?
That seems to depend on which local clock you look at, as some have yet to be adjusted after the time change.
But one thing's for sure: it's Daylight Saving Time, which means it's a busy week at Dahlkemper's Jewelry Connection.
"Like anything, people are bringing out their watches," said Assistant Manager Katherine Dahlkemper. "Maybe they need a new battery. Maybe they need help resetting the day or date. Watches, like anything, can be very complicated or very simple."
Dahlkemper says a shift toward digital and smart watches has cut into the market, but she says the time-honored tradition of resetting watches is far from imperiled.
A standard, analog watch, she says never goes out of style.
"A lot of customers coming in, they don't want their watch to vibrate when there's a text message or an email coming through, so there still is a large audience that likes a traditional timeless, classic watch," she said.
But is the time change a good idea?
That depends on who you ask.
Studies show Americans split on the issue, with sleep experts saying it might do more harm that good.
"It's a fallacy to think of this thing that we call sleep debt," said Amy Parente of Mercyhurst University. "You can't pay back borrowing sleep from one night. You can eventually get back to sort of a normal space, but every time you lose sleep, that sleep is gone forever."
As for Dahlkemper, she has a simple solution: year-round Daylight Saving Time, even if it means she resets fewer watches.
"I would probably rather keep it year-round, just the same time," she said. "I don't like losing an hour of my sleep ever."