Curtis and Co. Big Time 3 zone watch w/ temp gauge. What does the stem positioned at aprox 10 O'clock control? It is near the temp guage but does not seem to control anything.

If you have only the stem to set your watch, then you have very few options.

I would expect your watch crown (stem) to have three positions;-

1) The home (normal position); this is used to wind the watch.

3) Fully out; this one is usually for setting the time; clockwise to advance and anticlockwise for retarding the the hands.

2) Between 1) and 3); this setting should be for setting the day of the week and the date. You will have to experiment to find which way tor turn for date and day.

mcdevfito75 here"s how to change the day and date on your vintage Seiko watch, Pull the stem out to the set position and simply turn the stem (winder) every second time around to the 1--2 3 O"oClock position the day will chage, once you get the day push in the stem in all the way, NOW with your fingernail just under the stem (winder) gently lift the stem up to it"s first notch or position, with the stem at this first notch or position, you can turn the stem and the hands won"t move but the date(number) will change, simply go to the correct number / date and your done, push the stem back in a your ready to go.

mcdevito75 here, Measure the width of the watch from the 9"Oclock to the 3" O"clock, from the outside edge of the case at the 9"o"clock to the outside edge of the case at the 3" o'Clock, do not include the stem.

TIME ZONE SETTING
The cefault time zone is PACIFIC. lf your location is not in the Pacific zone, set the
time zone as follows:
1. In normal time mode, press the "[,4ODE" key to enter the alarm time mode. 2. ln aiarm time mode, press and hold the ADJ . 'Cl"F" key for 2 seconds to enter
the time zone setting mode.
3. Press ihe "ADJ "C/'F" key to select the proper time zone: P=Pacific
M=Mountain C=Central E=Eastern 4. Press the f,'lODE key to save and exit the time zone setting mode, or let it exit
automaiically 30 seconds later without pressing any key.

Dennis,
"Chronograph" is watch terminology for 'stop-watch'.
There are 3 small dials on the watch.  The main dial has a minute hand and an hour hand.  The big second hand on the main dial is not for the main time of the watch.  It is for measuring seconds for the stopwatch.
The 2 small dials at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock will give you minutes and 1/10 of a seconds.  
There are 2 buttons on the side of the watch. Top Button:  Start/Stop Bottom Button: Reset
To set the chronograph to its default position, you would pull out the stem to the first position and push the buttons.  Also, pull the stem out further to the 2nd position and push the buttons.

I used to sell Skagen watches,don't know excatly which watch you have . I even went to their web site and couldn't find it. Most Skagens ( unless they are a chronograph with the three curcles on the dial) works like this: Your watch stem has 3 differant settings #1 all the way in #2 half way out , and #3 all the way out . To set the time you pull the stem all the way out and adjust the time. To set the date,pull the stem all the way out and turn untill the date changes ( this will make sure you have it on am-pm correctly) then put the hands at 6 o'clock. Put the stem all the way back in, then pull the stem half-way out. Start with the stem all the way in and slowly pull it out and you will feel the "click" when it is half-way out. MAKE SURE YOU HANDS ARE NOT BETWEEN 9 O'CLOCK AND 3 O'CLOCK, OR YOU WILL BREAK THE AUTOMATC DATE SETTING GEAR!!!!! Then either turn the stem clock-wise , or counter clock-wise , one of the two ways will set your date.

On some analog Timex watches with a day/date window there are only two "pull-out" positions on the stem, one for changing the date and one for the time. To change the day you need to pull the stem all the way out and crank the hands through 24 hour periods until you get the day correct. Be sure that you have the correct AM/PM setting (if you are setting the watch after noon you need to advance the hands another 12 hours so that the day changes at midnight)

The crown is probably a screw down style. The screw down stem is designed to keep the water out and should be screwed shut when not adjusting the watch. Look at the watch stem from the side, look from the 3 oclock to the 9 oclock, you should see the end of the stem. Now turn the stem counterclockwise. After a number of turns, the stem should pop out a bit, it is now ready to set. Most waterproof automatic day/date watches have 4 positions for the stem:

1: screwed down (locked)
2: unscrewed position A
3: unscrewed position B (stem pulled out to first "click")
4: unscrewed position C (stem pulled out all the way.)

Position A:
This is usually used to wind the watch, although some automatic watches cannot be wound by the stem.

Position B:
Used to set day/date. Turning the stem one direction will advance the day and turning it the other direction will advance the date.

Position C:
Used to set the time. Some watches will "hack," a term used to describe the ability to stop the second hand for accuracy purposes.

Be sure the watch is at least a little bit wound before starting theis procedure or it will not run when you get it set!


Unscrew the stem and pull it all the way out to position C. Now turn the stem to advance the time clockwise. Continue turning until the day/date advances, now you know you are in the AM 12 hrs of the day. It is important not to advance the day/date with the stem during the 3 hours before and the 3 hours after midnight, so go ahead and move the time to 8 am.

Now push the stem in sligthly until you are in position B. Sometimes it is easier to go to position A, the out to position B. Once in position B, advance the day/date until it is set for the current day/date.

Pull the stem out to position C. Adjust the time to one minute past the current time. Watch your reference timepiece until it matches your watch and push the stem in when they match.

Your watch is now set! Screw the crown down and wear it in good health.


Hacking. If you stop the second hand at 0 seconds, and wait for your reference timepiece to reach 0 seconds also, you can set the watch to within a second accuracy.

Movement slop. If you advance the time past the time you wish to set your watch and then "backup" to your chosen time, you will remove the slop from the geartrain and make your watch set more accuretly

Turning it backwards didn't work on my watch. I ended up winding the time ahead several days worth to show the right day of the week (being careful to turn it to the correct 9 o'clock of the day, for me is was the first for morning.) Then I could go ahead and change the date using the first click postition of the stem.

I see that light bulb going off and you whispering "why, of course!"

Use this page to download a copy of CASIO watch manuals in PDF format. To download a PDF file, enter the four-digit (or three-digit) module number marked on the back cover of your watch.

http://world.casio.com/wat/download/en/manual/

You will need a pdf reader on your pc, you will find all instructions in there.

If you don't have a pdf reader you can get one from
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php