Pocket Watch Hands

I have talked about pocket watch dials in another article, but the hands are also a very important part of a watch's design.

Moreover, since the watch cannot fulfill its original role of "telling the time" without the hands, they are also the most frequently viewed part.

Various designs and features are incorporated not only for aesthetics but also for readability.

Representative Hand Designs

Here, I will introduce some representative designs commonly found on antique pocket watches.

1. Spade

Hands with a spade-shaped tip. They are quite common and widely seen.
In pocket watches, the hour hand is often the only one that is spade-shaped.

In the case of watches with a half-hunter (demi-hunter) case, the hour and minute hands are distinguished by two spades (double spade) so that they can be easily identified through the small window even when the cover is closed.

2. Breguet

These hands were devised by the legendary genius watchmaker Breguet.
The donut-shaped disc at the tip of the hand makes it very easy to read.
These are also hands commonly found on antique pocket watches.

3. Louis

These are hands with a very elaborate design and a luxurious atmosphere.
Antique ones are not stamped but hand-engraved one by one.
There are Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI hands depending on the subtle differences in design.

4. Dolphin / Alpha

• Dolphin... a hand shaped like one side of a diamond stretched out. It is also called a dauphine.
• Alpha... a hand where the base of the dolphin is narrowed.

5. Cathedral

Hands named after the "Cathedral".
The tip is diamond-shaped, and some types have holes in them.

6. Butterfly

These are very stylishly designed hands shaped like butterflies.

7. Morning Glory

These are hands designed like gas lamps.

8. Cobra

They are called this because the tip of the hour hand looks like a cobra's head.
They are used in military watches and old dress watches.

Trivia About Hands

About Hand Colors

Antique pocket watches are often gold, blue, or black.

Blue hands are called "blued steel," and they are made by heat-treating the metal to create a blue oxide film on the surface. Because they are difficult to make, they are used in high-end watches.

How Hands Are Attached

There are exceptions in old watches from before the 19th century, but most are simply lightly pressed onto the central arbor.
They are not connected with adhesive or welding, and they will not be secured unless the size of the arbor and the hole match perfectly.

Replacing Hands

Since hands are very delicate parts and moving parts, they are often replaced in old watches.

However, as explained in "How Hands Are Attached," hands are secured by the exquisite fit between the arbor and the hole. In the case of antique watches where almost no replacement parts remain, it is unlikely that you will find replacement hands that fit perfectly in design and can be installed.

Sometimes the hole is slightly ovalized, or in poorly made ones, they are forcibly attached with adhesive.
It is also common for the colors and designs of the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand to be mismatched, or for the sizes not to fit.

Since hands are not engraved, it is very difficult to determine whether they are original.

Summary

Watches express various faces through the combination of dials and hands.

Watch hands are very important parts, but they are delicate and easily broken.
When setting the time, please try not to turn them too quickly.