A lot of people wonder what hand is the hour hand?The answer is hour hand is the short hand that marks the hours on the dial of a watch or clock.

hour hand is just the one of the simplest parts of a watch. If you want to learn more, join us as we explore the hour hand and minute hand, differentiate between various types of watch hand, and learn how to measure and determine the watch hand. By the end, you will have a thorough understanding of which hand represents the hand on a clock or watch.

The hour hand and minute hand

There are 2 watch hands( hour hand, the minute hand) on most of analog watch. So how do you tell the difference between these two watch hands? The hour hand is the short one which marks the hour on dial on a watch or clock.The minute hand is the long and big hand which indicates the minute.

Second hand

Some wrist watches or clock have a second hand in addition to the basic hour and minute hands. The second hand is the longest and thinnest hand and is used to indicate seconds.The second hand on a watch or clock is divided into small second hand and sweep second hand.

Sweep second hand watch

Sweep watch hand are that the second hand is concentrically mounted with the minute hand and hour hand so that people can read the time on the same dial.

Small second hand

A watch featuring a small second function situates the seconds display in a separate sub dial on the watch face, usually positioned at 6 o’clock. In contrast to the commonly seen central second position in modern watches, a timepiece with small seconds is a more traditional choice, often regarded as a complication. Including a small second hand further enhances the sophistication and functionality of such a watch.

Measure watch hand

The minute hand and hour hand appear as a pair rather than separately. To measure the length of the clock hand, you can first measure the length of the minute hand, from the middle of the watch hole to the end of the hand. Note that the watch hand length is a whole number or 0.5 mm, there is no 15.2 mm watch hand length. for example, the hour and minute hand should be like 5×8 or 6x9mm.

The watch hand factory usually produce watch hand in aluminum or copper-coated steel. If the watch hand is too long to affect timekeeping, you can consider cutting the watch hand short. This is because if the clock hand is too wide or too long, the torque force of the movement is not enough to move the watch hand. Then you can choose another watch movement.

The second hand length is the same or longer than the minute hand. But the second hand is thinner than a minute hand. You can see hour and minute hand, second hand length below.

Determine watch hand

If you want to design your own watch for your watch brand or create your own watch brand, it is very important to learn how to determine the length of the watch hand, which is also more specialized watch knowledge.

Step 1: determine the diameter of the opening face of the watch face, note that it is the opening watch dial. Opening face means the diameter of the face that the eye can see, not the watch dial diameter. Refer to the figure below.

Step 2: calculate the length of the minute hand. The length of the minute hand is equal to (opening face diameter-1)/2. So if the diameter of the opening face is 30.5mm, then the length of the minute hand is (30.5-1)/2 = 14.25mm, as we said before,the length of the watch hand is usually a whole number or 0.5mm, so the length of the minute hand is 14mm or 14.5mm.

Step 3:calculate the length of the hour hand, generally speaking, the hour hand is 0.7 times the minute hand, so the length of the hour hand is 14×0.7mm = 9.8mm, so the length of the hour hand is 10mm.

Step 4: determine the length of the second hand, the length of the second hand is as long as the minute hand, but if the open surface is relatively large, the second hand can be longer than the minute hand, about 0.5mm.

Types of watch hand

The different shapes of the watch hands show the aesthetics and positioning of the watch brand. Many famous watch brands have their own characteristic watch hand, such as Rolex’s Mercedes watch hand and Cartier’s treasure blue arrow watch hand. Next, we will introduce you to different hands in watch to help you better appreciate your watch.

Alpha Watch hand

Alpha hand is One of the most common types of clock hand. It has a wide base, a long narrow stem and a longer tip. They are used in chronograph, GMT and dual time zone watches such as Omega’s Speedmaster.

Alpha watch hand

The alpha and lance hand come out narrowly from the center, then immediately tilt outward before narrowing again to the hand. They resemble an elongated tilted diamond, or even like sharpened leaf hand.

Arrow watch hand

Arrow watch hand is among the most recognizable because they point to the hours and minutes with an arrow-shaped clock hand. This gives the dial an excellent and fast readability. Watches manufacturers use arrow watch hand on diving watches for better visibility underwater. You can see arrow watch hand from on Omega’s Seamaster, Tudor and other brand watches.

Baton watch hand

Baton watch hands are the most common type of watch hand and also known as stick hands. Their simple, slender, rectangular shape characterizes them. Baton clock hand has a long stem attached to the center of the face, which allows them to move. We typically use baton clock hand on dress watches and other watches with a more traditional design.

Breguet watch hand

Breguet watch hands are slender and elegant, with a long, sharp ring at the end of the shank that looks very much like an apple. Watch manufacturers use Breguet hand on dress watches, paired with Roman numerals face, so that the whole look is very elegant and formal.

Cathedral hour and minute hand

Cathedral watch hand are a variation on the classic skeleton hand. The shape of the hands mimics the stained glass commonly found in Cathedral windows, featuring elaborate geometric details coated with luminous paint. A Cathedral hand usually has a larger hour hand and a thinner minute hand. Cathedral hands are suitable for vintage style watches.

Dauphine hour and minute hand

A variant of the Breguet hand, the dauphine hand, is an invention from the 1940s, named after the French word for prince. In the shape of a classic tapered triangle, the dauphine hands have an elegant appearance and are suitable for traditional style dress watches.

Fulfilled/Leaf hour and minute hand

As the name suggests, the fulfilled/leaf watch hand is similar in shape to a leaf, with a wide middle and tapered ends. So this elegant and slender shape adds elegance to the dial. For example this moon phase watch with leaf watch hand is suitable for elegant occasion.

Lollipop hour and minute hand

This lollipop hand features in the large second hand like a lollipop shape, so that it can quickly sweep the time with good recognition. In addition, the hour and minute hands are wider, so it is easy to add lume paint. We can see the lollipop hand in the Rolex Explorer and Tudor Submariner.

Mercedes hour and minute hand

Mercedes watch hand takes its name from the three-pointed star of the hour hand, which looks like the Mercedes-Benz badge logo. This feature helps to distinguish the hour hand from the minutes at a glance. Especially the Mercedes shape area is more suitable for making dive watches like Rolex submariner if luminescent paint is added to it.

Obelisque watch hand

As the name implies, the Obelisque watch hand is shaped like the narrow monuments used in ancient Egypt. The Obelisque watch hand is narrower at the head, slowly widening and becoming pointed again near the end. We often used this type of hand in luxury watches such as the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.

Pencil watch hand

Pencil watch hand are a subcategory of sword watch hand, and their name describes their shape. Like a classic wooden pencil, these hands are long, thin and straight, with a small tip at the top. The pointer’s appearance can vary depending on its width, either solid or filled with luminous material.

Snowflake watch hand

As mentioned before, some watch brands have their own characteristic watch hands. The snowflake hand is the signature design of TUDOR sports watches. The snowflake hand features a snowflake shaped pattern on the end of the second hand. This snowflake pattern feature makes this hand popular among dive watches.

Spade hour and minute hand

As you can tell from the name of the hands, the hour hand has a spade shape at the end, while the minute hand is an elongated version of the hour hand.

Syringe watch hand

The syringe watch hand is shaped like an injection syringe. The only difference is that the middle part is wider. The syringe hour and minute hand is paired with a simple dial design, and the whole watch looks elegant and high-end.

Sword watch hand

The sword watch hand is very similar in shape to the blade of a sword, with a very sharp tail and an overall long and thin appearance. However, the middle part of the hand is slightly wider. Cartier watches especially like to match the blue sword watchhands, especially the white Roman numeral dial with blue sword-shaped hands, which look more advanced and clean.

Tritium hour and minute hand

In recent years, Swiss company TR through high-tech technology will be tritium gas (rare gas H3) sealed inside the transparent vacuum tube coated with cold light material, tritium gas continues to emit low-energy particles times the cold light material absorbed to emit light.
The night light does not need to use any light source to achieve zero energy consumption self-luminous. Tritium watch hand can adapt to extreme environments such as deep-sea operations, and glow for up to 25 years, so many diving watches have been equipped with tritium watch hand.

Conclusion-which hand is the hour hand

In conclusion, understanding which hand is the hour hand is crucial for watch lover. We have explored the significance of watch hand movements, differentiated between hand types, and provided insights into measuring and determining the hour hand and minute hand. By familiarizing yourself with these concepts, you will enhance your ability to read time with precision and appreciate the intricacies of timekeeping devices.

If you want to understand more about the structure of a watch and the watch industry, it is not enough to know only the watch hand, but you also need a comprehensive understanding of watch accessories such as case, watch movement, faces,lug, bezel, straps, etc. If you want to learn more about the watch industry or have questions, please email watchessy and we will be happy to answer your questions.