From SwissWatchExpo…
Spotlight on: The different kinds of watch hour markers. How many can you name?
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Aside from its function, watch design is the most important consideration when buying a timepiece.
The case, bezel, dial, and all the other parts of the watch all come together to form its aesthetic.
Although they consist a tiny part of the watch, hour markers are carefully chosen
during the design process, in order to help define a watch’s character.
Here’s a rundown of all kinds of watch markers, from simple to ornate.
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Arabic numerals are the most common symbols for numbers today. In watches,
they can either be placed on each hour position, or be combined with other types of hour markers.
They are often placed on the 3, 6, 9,
and 12 o’clock positions when mixed with other marker types.
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Baton hour markers are rectangular shaped markers that can either be painted on,
or applied or sitting on the surface of the dial.
Baton markers tend to be thinner on vintage and dress watches and thicker on sports watches.
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Roman numerals were the usual way of writing numbers up until the Late Middle Ages.
Formed by letters of the alphabet, these can either be in Serif or Sans Serif,
and are most often used for dressier types of watches.
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Round hour markers look very legible, that’s why they’re often used in sports watches.
They are also often treated with luminescence for optimal visibility in low light situations.
Popular examples of these are Rolex sport watches,
and often, they are combined with arrow and baton markers.
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While other hour markers serve a functional purpose,
diamond hour markers are geared toward aesthetics.
Diamond hour markers are usually combined with other diamond accents,
such as diamond bezels, to add sparkle to a watch.
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Arrow markers are most commonly seen in Rolex and Tudor watches, usually on the 12 o’clock position.
These are usually pointing down to the center of the watch,
and are combined with round and baton hour markers as seen here.
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Stick hour markers are much thinner versions of the baton.
They can either be painted on or applied.
The long and thin shape of these markers give the dial a sleek and refined look,
so they are most often seen in dress watches.
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Breguet numerals, as the name suggests,
were developed by famed watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet himself.
They appeared in timepieces just before the French Revolution,
and are characterized by elegant, calligraphy-style Arabic numerals.
These graceful numerals are often seen in dress watches,
and are not exclusive to Breguet timepieces.
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Square hour markers are quite obscure and rarely seen in watches.
The most popular example would be the Tudor Pelagos, whose square markers are combined
with an arrow marker at 12 o’clock, and baton markers at 6 and 9 o’clock.
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Dagger or dauphine hour markers are sharp,
triangular-shaped indices that either point inward, or outward the dial.
Like most watch hands, they come in different versions; sometimes they are flat but more often
they are faceted. Due to their refined appearance, they are almost exclusively used in dress watches.
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Hour markers may be a minor consideration when choosing a watch,
but they do have a major impact on the overall look of the timepiece.
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