The ultimate watch hand style guide
Borna BošnjakUs watch nerds like to get up-close-and-personal with the most particular minutiae of watches, and this also includes (nick)naming just about everything. Whether we’re talking about the types of patina on vintage watches or recognisable monikers for specific watch references, encountering this lingo without any familiarity can be daunting. Similarly, this applies to watch hands. I’m certain you would’ve seen mention of Breguet handsets (or numerals), or noticed that certain brands tend to prefer a particular style over others. With visual cues and short descriptions, we’re hoping this will be your guiding light on the path to demystifying all things watch hands. Just to finish off this preamble, this list won’t include styles unique to particular brands – think instantly recognisable designs by the likes of F.P. Journe or Peter Speake. And if I’ve forgotten any, don’t hesitate to let me know.
Alpha
Ordering the entries in alphabetical order, we start with the alpha hand style, and perhaps fittingly, the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph as its example. You also may have heard this style referred to as “lance”, “lancet”, or sometimes even “spear”, though that last one is a category of its own as I’ll touch on shortly. You can recognise an alpha handset by its isosceles triangle-like taper and slim connecting point to the pinion.
Arrow
The arrow handset is quite self-explanatory, referring to a style in which at least one of the hands represents an arrow. If I’m nitpicking, the minute hand of this Omega Speedmaster ’57 is technically a dauphine style (spoilers), but when it comes to Omega in particular, this style has been popularised as the “broad arrow”, referring to Speedmasters of old. However, the arrow shape isn’t necessarily limited to the hour hand, as Omega’s own Aqua Terra line flips the script and uses the arrowhead tip on its minute hands. One final bit of nerdery: the Speedmaster ’57 technically combines four watch hand styles. Can you name them all?
Baton
As one of the more straightforward handset styles around, baton hands have been used by a huge number of brands. Their most classical execution can be found in the likes of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, where they’re paired with equally simple rectangular indices and often accompanied by rectangular sections of lume.
Having said that, you’ll find people describing the hands of a Patek Philippe Nautilus as batons, or referring to wider, rectangular hands as “batons” and skinny rectangular types like on this Calatrava as “sticks” – even though “baton” simply means “stick” in French.
Breguet
Like I mentioned in the introduction, Breguet hands are some of the most recognisable out there. Slender sticks with crescent-like shapes near the top, and elongated pointers at their outermost ends make Breguet hands some of the most elegant styles out there. But this is watch terminology we’re talking about, so naturally, you’ll find synonyms for these as well. In this case, Breguet hands are also known as “pomme” or “apple” hands.
Cathedral
Take a quick look at two of the most popular field watches on the market today – namely the Hamilton Murph and Seiko Alpinist – and you’ll see that they share almost identical handsets. Again, it’s a case of mixed styles, where the hour hand is really the one giving this distinct style its name. The lume supports give it the look of a stained glass window, while the minutes hand often adopts a syringe style (again, spoilers).
However, I’ve also come across several other mentions of cathedral hands that are very similar to the ones on this Lang & Heyne Friedrich. Clearly harking back to pocket watches of yesteryear, this cathedral hand style reminds me of a fountain pen nib affixed to a post.
Dauphine
While I’ll try to be impartial when it comes to offering my opinion on all of the other styles, dauphine hands make that too difficult. If you ask me, it’s far and away the best handset style – don’t @ me. Supporting my claim is the fact that it’s also one of the more widely used styles, simply for its versatility regardless of the type of watch they’re being affixed to. The wide, flat surface also offers brands plenty of room to play with finishes. Grand Seiko in particular shows off great mastery here – take the razor, sharp bevelled edges of the Omiwatari above – while other brands prefer a centreline facet that separates a polished and brushed finish for extra contrast.
Fleur de lys
The fleur de lys handset is rarely used in wristwatches, in fact, I’m only able to find examples of this from Czapek’s Quai de Bergues collection. Expand your horizons to include pocket watches, and you’ll find no shortage of fleur de lys styles, equipping the tips of long, slender hands with this traditional French symbol.
Leaf
The elegantly curvaceous shape of the leaf hand is often used for dress watches, and you’ll rarely find them containing any lume. You’ll see them described as “feuille” hands as well, which is simply the French translation of “leaf”. As for where to find them, H. Moser uses the style in many of its Endeavour models, such as this Vantablack-dialled number.
Lollipop
I debated whether or not to include the lollipop hand in the list, as it’s a name you’ll only really find referring to the running seconds hand. In the example of our Baltic x Time+Tide Hermétique Night Mode, the main handset is actually a syringe style while only the seconds hand could be described as a “lollipop” hand.
You will find some handsets that could be argued are actually lollipops, such as the Rolex Perpetual 1908 or vintage Tudor Submariner, but I’d argue they’re more ‘Mercedes-less’ than strictly lollipops.
Louis XV
Lang & Heyne makes its return to the list with this stunning Friedrich August I and its Louis XV hands. Similarly to the brand’s cathedral hands and the fleur de lys we saw on the Czapek, these Louis-style hands are rarely used outside of pocket watches nowadays. You’ll often find cheap, stamped examples used as replacements on vintage pocket watches or Frankenwatches, which is a real shame because when done properly (such as the hand-carved Lang & Heyne ones), it’s a truly stunning look on the right watch.
Mercedes
Seeing as the most recognisable watch brand in the world has made them a bit of a signature, I’d say that Mercedes hands have a good shot at being the most famous handset style out there. Used across Rolex’s catalogue, it’s obvious where the hands got their name from, but the origin of the hands themselves is a little less clear. There are several theories out there as to how the iconic Mercedes shape came to be, but the most plausible scenario for me is that it’s a simplification of the lumed cathedral style that has spread to a huge number of dive watches today.
Obelisque
Another contentious entry is the obelisque handset, as there seem to be two main schools of thought once again. The one that makes the most sense to me is when it comes to something like the Oris Big Crown ProPilot. With a wide base that tapers to a smaller, sharp tip, they exactly replicate the shape of an obelisk, though again, you could argue that they just look like a stubby pair of pencil hands.
Blancpain, however, has a different definition. In this case, the brand refers to the hands of its iconic Fifty Fathoms as obelisque hands, though to me, they’re more reminiscent of sword hands that happen to taper a little further towards their tips.
Pencil
Distinguishing themselves from baton hands with a small, pointed tip, the pencil handset is also referred to as an index, fencepost, or (rarely) pointer style. With an inoffensive, simple design that allows the rest of the dial to shine, it’s no wonder brands like Nomos use it for their Bauhaus design-driven pieces like the Club Campus. Pencil hands are effective, minimal and legible. What more can you ask for?
Plongeur
Legibility first must’ve been the design brief for whoever designed the first plongeur handset. Translating as “diver” from French, you’ll find plongeur hands on the biggest, most brutish divers such as the Omega Ploprof. This is an extreme example of not just a dive watch, but also of the plongeur hands, where the minute absolutely dwarfs the hour hand, but actually combines two styles: sword for the minutes, and pencil for the hours.
Snowflake
If thinking of Mercedes hands makes you think of Rolex, I’m certain that Tudor will be the first brand on your mind when thinking about snowflake hands. First appearing in the second-generation Tudor Submariners in 1968, to accompany the large, rectangular lume plots of the dial, Tudor also gave the hour hand its unique, squared-off shape that is still in use by the Black Bays and Pelagoses (Pelagi?) of today. However, snowflake hands aren’t unique to Tudor: Longines recently also got in on the action with the Hydroconquest GMT.
Spade
My take on dauphine hands being the best style is subjective, but when it comes to the brand that has the best-executed spade hands, that’s not up for debate. Kikuchi Nakagawa’s Murakumo is the perfect example of a style also called “poire” (French for “pear”), and it’s distinguished by its wide hour hand reminiscent of the playing card suit, resplendently executed in all its three-dimensional, polished glory. This is about as good as it gets, folks.
Spear
What Kikuchi Nakagawa is to the spade hand is what Laurent Ferrier is to the spear (or assegai) hand. The brand’s signature hands are used throughout its entire collection, marked by their thin stems and hand-polished, rounded finish. You’ll also see a similar style from Moritz Grossmann and Tutima, but none match the delicacy of Laurent Ferrier.
Sword
From the swooping curves of the poire and spear hands, we get to the blocky, no-fuss sword handset. If it’s a pilot’s watch you’re looking at, like this IWC Pilot’s Chrono, chances are it’ll have sword hands, favoured for their legibility and large surface area that can be covered with lume. Similarly to others on this list, “lozenge” and “diamond” are sometimes used to describe handsets that look near enough identical to a sword style, with minor variations in the amount of taper and width.
Syringe
We finish off with the syringe handset, often used on tool watches for their needle-thin tips that can accurately point out a timing scale. The style is well-represented by the Fortis Stratoliner, as it’s essentially a pencil hand with an elongated spire attached to its tip, and are sometimes referred to as a “paddle” hand, especially when their tips are shorter. Having said that, they’re not exclusively used by sports watches, as Patek Philippe has used it for some of its dailyable Calatrava models, though once again, their flat surface area lends itself well to copious coats of lume.