diff --git a/gds21/src/read.rs b/gds21/src/read.rs
index 7ba5d41..2a7b7d8 100644
--- a/gds21/src/read.rs
+++ b/gds21/src/read.rs
@@ -835,13 +835,24 @@ where
         if d.len() != 12 {
             return self.fail("Invalid length GdsDateTimes");
         }
+        let parse_datetime = |year, month, day, hour, minute, second| {
+            NaiveDate::from_ymd_opt(year, month, day)
+                .and_then(|date| date.and_hms_opt(hour, minute, second))
+                .unwrap_or(NaiveDateTime::UNIX_EPOCH)
+        };
         Ok(GdsDateTimes {
-            modified: NaiveDate::from_ymd(d[0] as i32, d[1] as u32, d[2] as u32).and_hms(
+            modified: parse_datetime(
+                d[0] as i32,
+                d[1] as u32,
+                d[2] as u32,
                 d[3] as u32,
                 d[4] as u32,
                 d[5] as u32,
             ),
-            accessed: NaiveDate::from_ymd(d[6] as i32, d[7] as u32, d[8] as u32).and_hms(
+            accessed: parse_datetime(
+                d[6] as i32,
+                d[7] as u32,
+                d[8] as u32,
                 d[9] as u32,
                 d[10] as u32,
                 d[11] as u32,
diff --git a/gds21/src/tests.rs b/gds21/src/tests.rs
index c0931ea..998d5d4 100644
--- a/gds21/src/tests.rs
+++ b/gds21/src/tests.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@ use super::*;
 
 /// Specified creation date for test cases
 fn test_dates() -> GdsDateTimes {
-    let test_date = NaiveDate::from_ymd(1970, 1, 1).and_hms(0, 0, 1);
+    let test_date = NaiveDate::from_ymd_opt(1970, 1, 1)
+        .unwrap()
+        .and_hms_opt(0, 0, 1)
+        .unwrap();
     GdsDateTimes {
         modified: test_date,
         accessed: test_date,
@@ -80,6 +83,50 @@ fn it_round_trips() -> GdsResult<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 #[test]
+fn invalid_datetimes_preserve_geometry() -> GdsResult<()> {
+    let points = GdsPoint::vec(&[(0, 0), (0, 10), (10, 10), (10, 0), (0, 0)]);
+    let mut strukt = GdsStruct::new("cell");
+    strukt.elems.push(
+        GdsBoundary {
+            xy: points.clone(),
+            ..Default::default()
+        }
+        .into(),
+    );
+    let mut lib = GdsLibrary::new("lib");
+    lib.structs.push(strukt);
+
+    let mut bytes = Vec::new();
+    lib.write(&mut bytes)?;
+    let mut offset = 0;
+    while offset < bytes.len() {
+        let record_len = u16::from_be_bytes([bytes[offset], bytes[offset + 1]]) as usize;
+        let record_type = bytes[offset + 2];
+        if record_type == GdsRecordType::BgnLib as u8
+            || record_type == GdsRecordType::BgnStruct as u8
+        {
+            bytes[offset + 4..offset + record_len].fill(0);
+        }
+        offset += record_len;
+    }
+
+    let parsed = GdsLibrary::from_bytes(&bytes)?;
+    let epoch = NaiveDate::from_ymd_opt(1970, 1, 1)
+        .unwrap()
+        .and_hms_opt(0, 0, 0)
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(parsed.dates.modified, epoch);
+    assert_eq!(parsed.dates.accessed, epoch);
+    assert_eq!(parsed.structs.len(), 1);
+    assert_eq!(parsed.structs[0].dates.modified, epoch);
+    assert_eq!(parsed.structs[0].dates.accessed, epoch);
+    match &parsed.structs[0].elems[0] {
+        GdsElement::GdsBoundary(boundary) => assert_eq!(boundary.xy, points),
+        element => panic!("expected boundary, got {:?}", element),
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+#[test]
 fn it_has_gds_properties() -> GdsResult<()> {
     // Read a sample
     let lib = GdsLibrary::load(&resource("has_properties.gds"))?;