Have you ever noticed that advertisements for watches always seem to show the hands at 10:10--that is one hand at the 10 position and the other at the 2 position? An old myth says that this is in honor of the time of day when President Lincoln was assassinated (but he was actually shot at 10:15 pm). The real reasons are simpler and readily understandable. Consider the following:
- this is the perfect position to frame a company's logo
- it creates the appearance that the watch smiling (emotional marketing)
- aesthetically it's the best place for the hands
- it keeps the hands clear of signatures, subsidiary dials, and date windows
- it's been the industry marketing standard since watches went mainstream in the 1920s
I find this to be an interesting and fantastic phenomenon. There are however a few brands who always stray from this trend. One of them is Lange & Sohne whose hands (still point at ten and two) always say 1:51.
I like to celebrate this great phenomenon on 10/10 each year, the day we celebrate Synchronize Watches Day.
Yes, I use both the 10:10 or 1:50 while photographing vintage watches for my website http://www.vintagewatch.ca, mostly to show the name on the dial and details of sub-dials but I have tried other hand positions – this just seems to be what works best!
Doesn’t it also match the supposed correct driving hands position? As in, we’re used to seeing it so it looks normal for us?