We always ear about cases … dials … bezels … straps… but what about hands?
How many types of hands are there? What are all types of hands called? These are questions that a watch enthusiast must ask himself at some point in his career. Although the hands are not one of the most important parts of a watch, they substantially characterize its aesthetics.
Although the hands are used for various functions (hours, minutes, seconds, gmt, power reserve, etc …) for today we will focus on the more traditional hands of hours, minutes and seconds, going to list all the types of hands that exist.
1. Baton hands
Baton hands are one of the most common types of hands ever. They are named after their narrow and elongated rectangular shape, devoid of decorations and frills of any kind. These are the typical Rolex Day-date and Datejust hands.
The baton hands take the name of “Concorde” hands in GMT 1675 due to the advertising collaboration that took place between Rolex and the supersonic travel plane “Concorde”, around the 70s.
2. Alpha Hands
The Alpha hands are characterized by the “spearhead” shape. They are part of the most common and versatile hands. Unlike the baton hands, however, they give greater elegance and particularity to the dial of the timepiece. This type of hand is often used by A.Lange & Söhne, for example in their Datograph Flyback model.
3. Arrow Hands
The arrow hands are among the most recognizable thanks to the evident arrow shape they represent. They are much sportier hands and allow an excellent and fast readability of the dial. They are often used in diving watches for better visibility in depth.
Among the most famous models with arrow hands we find the Omega Speedmaster ’57 collection and the Rolex “Freccione” ref. 1655.
4. Breguet Hands
In the Breguet hands or off-center and hollowed-out pomme hands, the free end is characterized by a hollowed and off-center circle, which culminates with a very pointed part. These hands are named after the manufacturer that first invented them: Breguet, around 1783. They are very elegant, almost austere hands. Nowadays they are mainly used by Breguet, but also by other maisons, mainly for complicated watches.
5. Cathedral Hands
The cathedral hands were mainly used in the 1920s and 1930s. They are so called because they recall the wrought iron windows of cathedrals. Although they have been abandoned for a while, they are now making a comeback thanks to brands such as Zenith and Montblanc.
Truthfully, there is quite a disagreement between collectors on these hands. Someone says that the hands pictured above are normal skeletonized hands while Cathedral hands are those that presents a diamond-shaped end that recalls the front facades of cathedrals.
6. Leaf-shaped Hands
This type of hand is often found on vintage elegant watches and is so named because it resembles the shape of a leaf. Unlike the Alpha hands, the leaf hands have no angular parts on the sides. They can only be rounded and symmetrical, with the widest part of it falling exactly in the center of the hand. The brand that is making the most of this type of hands is certainly Moser, with its Endeavor line.
7. Mercedes Hands
Mercedes hands are among the most used on diving watches of all ages. This type of hands is so named because of its resemblance to the car manufacturer’s logo… they actually have nothing to do with it. As it is easy to observe, the hour hands allow easy reading even if dominated by other hands, thanks to that three-pointed star.
8. Dauphine Hands
The Dauphine hands are among the most essential and elegant. Their shape, especially if in rose gold, immediately makes one think of pyramids. When you look at them you seem to observe the section of a pyramid seen perpendicular to one of the edges. They are also characterized by the fixed end (the base) wide that gradually points outwards.
9. Snowflake Hands
Born with the intention of distinguishing themselves from Rolex submariner cousin many years ago, these hands are so named for the resemblance to a snowflake. As with Mercedes hands, Snowflakes are also mainly used for highly legible watches. Even today it is a hallmark of the Tudor house, especially in its divers.
10. Syringe-shaped Hands
Also in this case, the name derives from the similarity with a “common” object: a syringe. These hands are mainly used in Pilot Watches and vintage-inspired contemporary watches. A recent example are the two new Calatrava models ref. 5226G and 5326G, both equipped with this type of hands.
11. Pencil Hands
This type of hands derive their name from the fact that they take the exact shape of a pencil. They are fairly recent hands and are used in modern watches. One example is the Polaris Date Green presented this year by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
12. Lollipop Hand
Named for its shape similar to that of a lollipop, this type is mainly used for the second hand. They are more frequent in vintage or heritage models, for example in the Omega Seamaster presented in 2021, clearly inspired by the first models of the 60s.
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