diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 90b8a56..0f97af4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## [v0.1.0](../../releases/tag/v0.1.0) - 2025-11-08
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Fixed
+- Replace HFS epoch (1904-01-01) sentinel timestamps with `timeNow`.
+
+## [0.1.0] - 2025-11-08
 
 - Initial release of **FSKitBridge**. See details in the [README](README.md).
+
+[Unreleased]: ../../compare/v0.1.0...HEAD
+[0.1.0]: ../../releases/tag/v0.1.0
diff --git a/FSKitExt/Item.swift b/FSKitExt/Item.swift
index 6d239a7..b50aca1 100644
--- a/FSKitExt/Item.swift
+++ b/FSKitExt/Item.swift
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
+import Darwin
 import FSKit
 import Foundation
 import SwiftProtobuf
 
+// Seconds for 1904-01-01 00:00:00 UTC in Unix epoch (1970-based)
+private let HFSUnixEpochOffset: Int = -2_082_844_800
+
 final class Item: FSItem {
 
     private(set) var name: FSFileName
@@ -158,8 +162,18 @@ extension timespec {
 
     func toProto() -> Google_Protobuf_Timestamp {
         var ts = Google_Protobuf_Timestamp()
-        ts.seconds = Int64(self.tv_sec)
-        ts.nanos = Int32(self.tv_nsec)
+        let norm = normalize()
+        ts.seconds = Int64(norm.tv_sec)
+        ts.nanos = Int32(norm.tv_nsec)
         return ts
     }
+
+    private func normalize() -> timespec {
+        if self.tv_sec == HFSUnixEpochOffset {
+            var now = timespec()
+            clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, &now)
+            return now
+        }
+        return self
+    }
 }