THE JOURNAL

To distinguish a good watch, look at the hands

News centrePublished 2014-04-19

There are many ways to embellish a watch and give each model its own charm, such as diamond setting, enamel painting, introducing new materials, or using unique straps. However, the most direct way is to look at its hands, as reading the time inevitably requires focusing on them. With the continuous development of horology, it is not just the movement construction that has progressed; designers have also provided more“Displaying time”methods——Central seconds, small seconds, and regulator dials.

Central seconds:

　　The hour, minute, and second hands all share a central axis; this is known as a central seconds display. Watches described as having central seconds typically refer to basic models that only provide time indication, with the addition of a date display at most.Central seconds appear the most conventional; they can convey time information clearly and efficiently without the need for colours or even indices. Central seconds are a highly efficient, effective, and classic graphic symbol for information.

Glashütte central seconds watch

Small seconds:

　　Small seconds feature the hour and minute hands sharing a central axis, while the small seconds hand is placed on an independent sub-dial to display the running seconds separately. Essentially, it is a two-hand watch with an additional small window for the seconds hand. Small seconds are also known as short seconds or two-and-a-half hands.Small seconds are quite vintage, with a certain“instrumental feel”and the dial appears slightly more complex than that of a central seconds watch. Looking at the history of horology, wristwatches evolved from pocket watches. In watch design, the seconds hand was mounted on the fourth wheel, so the earliest seconds hands appeared at the4wheel position, not on the central axis; this is the nature of small seconds. It was only later, with technological progress, that central seconds were developed.

Nomos small seconds watch

Regulator:

　　The regulator is mentioned less frequently.Regulator, meaning a standard timekeeper with an adjuster, originally born in the18 century, specifically for watchmakers to calibrate the time on other watches. On its dial, the hour, minute, and second hands are positioned separately, which effectively avoids visual errors caused by overlapping coaxial hands; therefore,Regulator is also known as a regulator watch.