Who makes the Snowflake hand? What does a set of dauphine hands look like? Discover some of the most common types of watch hands.
Welcome to a simple guide to six of the most common types of watch hands. Yes, this is an informative article for beginner collectors. And, no, this is not an exhaustive list or an encyclopedia. However, it should serve as a valuable tool in helping you identify what watch style you want to begin your collection.
As you lose yourself down the horological rabbit hole (and you will!), you’ll encounter many more watch hand styles than we list here. Some include the Alpha hands, most commonly seen on an A. Lange & Sohne watches and the Arrow hands that define the Omega Speedmaster. Then there are spear hands, often featured in Laurent Ferrier watches and Rolex’s Mercedes hands. Spade hands, skeleton hands, syringe hands, and sword hands are other popular styles.
In this guide, we’ll look at who does each dial hand best and those who became famous for a particular style. Exploring watch elements like dial hands is fascinating. Just one small detail can change the look of a watch significantly. For example, replacing leaf hands with sword hands can take a dress watch into sportier territory. Likewise, what would the Hamilton Khaki Mechanical watch be without its cathedral hands?
Watch hand types define the style of a timepiece significantly. This small attention to detail often gives a watch its unique character. No one style is better than the other. Moreover, it all bubbles down to personal preference. Here are 6 of the most common watch hands. You’ll see these when shopping for watches online or in-store, sometimes even in the most unexpected places! So, without further ado, let’s begin!
Table of Contents
Baton Hands
Baton hands can be thin or fat but always have straight sides, sometimes with a tapering tip. They’re a great legible option for sports watches and dive watches since they can carry a good strip of lume down their surface. Baton hands give a watch a simple and elegant look. Their sleekness makes them perfect for minimalist and classic styles.
Bell & Ross excels in manufacturing aviation panel instrument-inspired watches. Part of that criteria involves a legible handset. The company’s baton hands in models like the sporty BR 05 guarantee that all-important no-frills appeal. Perfect for the urban explorer, the BR 05 watch showcases the baton hour and minute hands alongside a stealthy ceramic black case. The skeleton dial exposes the technical mastery behind mechanical timekeeping. Meanwhile, the circle-within-a-square case profile gives off tool-ish charm and a strong utilitarian vibe.
At 41mm in diameter, it’s one of the smaller offerings within this collection. I mentioned earlier that the baton shape is a great option for lume. Bell & Ross coats the two hands of this BR 05 watch in peppermint Super-LumiNova to match the baton hour markers. Limited to just 500 pieces worldwide, it also has the collectability factor.
Leaf Hands
Leaf hands, AKA “feuille” hands in French, are unequivocally elegant. Their thin and tapering base and tip afford a thicker middle section, calling a leaf or petal to mind. Because of their delicate, flowing curves and distinctive voluptuous shape, they’re often a central feature in dress watches and perpetual calendars. Manufacturers also use this shape for small sub-dial hands. The slightest imperfections can be seen in the soft silhouette of the leaf-shaped hand. Indeed, only the prowess of an experienced maison can do the feuille hand shape justice in an elegant dress watch.
The IWC Portofino boasts this curvilinear type of hand, creating a sense of understated elegance. Measuring a compact 39mm case, it’s a more manageable alternative to another IWC classic – the Portugieser. The latter takes inspiration from oversized pocket watches of the 1930s. Yet, the Portofino is a timepiece that shares the famous Italian fishing village’s pared-back and elegant way of life.
The Portugieser incorporates many examples of the technical tour de force of haute horlogerie into its design. Take, for example, the railway track chapter ring from the 1930s and the unmistakable Arabic numerals. More importantly, however, the leaf hands in this model are rhodium-coated and feature in the chronograph’s sub-counters. This special touch adds a layer of finesse to this classic complication.
Dauphine Hands
Research suggests that dauphine hands take their name from the silhouette of the dolphin. They certainly share some of the sea mammal’s majestic beauty. The style of hand began emerging during the 1940s. It was commonly featured in elegant dress watches instead of military watches or sports tools. Thanks to its faceted features, you may hear people referring to the dauphine hand as the razor hand.
One manufacturer that succeeds in capturing the elegance of the dauphine handset is Grand Seiko. The Japanese company may get some criticism for lacking adventurous styles, but it perfects the dauphine handset. The Grand Seiko Heritage Snowflake model is an affordably priced dress watch, considering its level of case finishing. The watch houses the famous in-house Spring Drive movement, which combines the efficiency of quartz with the allure of mechanical movement. The engine, nestling inside a 41mm lightweight titanium case, propels the dauphine hands around a hand-finished snowflake-inspired dial rather gracefully.
Snowflake Hands
Speaking of “Snowflake,” another prestigious luxury watch manufacturer uses this name for horological innovation. It’s the Snowflake hands by TUDOR – sister brand to industry giant Rolex. And while some people mistakenly feel that TUDOR is the poor man’s Rolex, that’s not the case. The brand worked incredibly hard to step out of the shadows of its older sibling. The manufacturer soon gained an identity of its own with revelations like the Pelagos, the 1924, and the iconic Black Bay. This neo-vintage watch revived the snowflake hand – a design feature from TUDOR’s past.
If you know much about watches, you’ll know the easily identifiable Black Bay watch. Those Snowflake hands stretch back over five decades and arrived as part of the second generation of the Submariner. The purpose of the hands was to provide more surface area for luminescent material. Suffice it to say, the magic of the legible snowflake hands does the talking in the Black Bay design.
Measuring a 39mm diameter, this Black Bay watch is ideal for the smaller wrist and evokes the iconic dive watch aesthetic. Its lume-coated Snowflake hands accompany a case that goes without the unidirectional rotating bezel but makes up for it in other ways. For example, I particularly like the light champagne color of this dial. Although the signature Snowflake hands are less prominent in this model, its discreetness makes for a refreshing change.
Breguet Hands
The clue is in the name! The Breguet hands evolved from Abraham Louis Breguet’s very own design back in the 18th century. But does the brand do them best? I have to say, I think so. Of course, many companies have since adopted this unique style. But that hollowed moon and apple-end are best enjoyed on a true Breguet dial for authenticity and originality.
Breguet hands, otherwise known as “pomme” hands, became incredibly popular during the 19th century. They make timekeeping incredibly easy. To me, these hands epitomize traditional elegance and functional sophistication. They not only symbolize the evolution of Haute Horlogerie but also how little things change. The most timeless watchmaking techniques are still enjoyed in modern-day watchmaking today. This is why the Breguet hand is such a special element in this time-honored craft.
This Breguet watch features one of the most emblematic complications in watchmaking. Combined with the characteristic Breguet hands, this manual-winding watch is quite a marvel. It features a power reserve indicator at 10 o’clock, alongside an exposed tourbillon with a fusee-chain system. This feature optimizes the regularity of the movement and pairs with a reducer on the barrel drum. As one of the most complex on this list, this watch doesn’t come cheap. Still, I think you’ll agree that Breguet’s hands are the stars of the show.
Cathedral Hands
You can see the pointed arches of a Gothic cathedral in the style of the cathedral hands. Surprisingly, this style not only features in dressier timepieces but in one of the world’s most famous field watches too – the Hamilton Khaki. The handset comprises a bulbous-like hour hand and a skyscraper minute hand. These hands are also featured in designs like the Seiko Prospex Alpinist and the Oris Big Crown.
This Oris Big Crown Pointer Date watch is an 80thanniversary celebration of the original 1938 Pointer Date watch. As part of the Oris story, it carries some emblematic features like the famous knurled bezel. One particularly striking element of the watch is the patinating bronze material of its case, crown, bezel, and buckle. With its beguiling cathedral hands, the Pointer Date is a globally appreciated timepiece that embodies a wonderful vintage charm.
Types of Watch Hands Concluded
Often, it’s obvious what type of watch hands a dial carries. But sometimes, the lines can become a little blurry. For example, Invicta uses hands that look like a cross between the arrow and the sword with its Pro Diver watch. And the hands of certain Citizen dials merge Mercedes, syringe, arrow, and plongeur hands together. Most of the time, however, watch hands have a distinctive profile that gives a specific design a unique character.
Exploring this element of watch collecting is rather fascinating. More than anything else, it proves the importance of the finer details in a watch. The handset on a dial may seem like a pretty insignificant feature. Only when you realize the impact each style can have on a watch and its wearer can you appreciate how very boring watch collecting would be without them.
Did I miss any important dial hands on this list? In the comments below, tell me your favorite style and why. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter at The Slender Wrist today for more guides like this!
