# Hour/Minute Hand length ratios?



## Reppate

Hi all, 

I just joined here last night and hope I might find an answer from those who know. I've asked this elsewhere, but people just reply "just make it look Good". That's subjective. 

I'm curious if there's an industry standard for the average ratio between Hour and Minute hand length. If so, maybe also an acceptable deviation (threshold) from that. 

Personally, I believe there's some Science behind the Art. 

If there's any documentation supporting the claim, that'd be *splendid*. You'd be my hero of the week. No joke. =) 

Thanks in advance for any conversation whatsoever on the matter. 


-Reppate


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## BarracksSi

The most legible mechanical chronograph wristwatch on the planet (and off!), the Speedmaster Professional, has an hour hand about 3/4 the length of the minute hand. It looks much shorter because the minute hand touches the hour markers, which add some visual length to the minute hand.

The current Rolex Explorer has received criticism on WUS for having hands that are too short overall. The minute hand doesn't quite reach the hour markers, and the hour hand is even stubbier. People have guessed (possibly correctly) that Rolex is just using the hands from the previous, smaller Explorer instead of making new hands that are proportionally longer to go with the larger new model.

My SKX009's hour hand is maybe 2/3 to 3/4 the length of the hour hand. My Rado Centrix's is probably 3/4, too, as is my Citizen's. The minute hands on all of these reach the hour markers, while there is a gap between the hour hand and any hour marker.

Taking these examples together, and speaking strictly about length and not color or shape, I'd say that besides the difference in the hands' lengths, it also matters that the minute hand reaches the hour markers. This helps differentiate the minute hand from the hour hand at a quick glance, even if the minute hand is between hour markers.


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## Raymond9010

Not sure if there is industry standards for hands, dial design will be extremely important, but we can use the divine proportion formula to work it out, since two hands are on the same plane, then we can use the ratio of 1.618 as the ideal proportion, so the minute hand should be 1.618 times longer than the hour hand.


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## rationaltime

In my opinion the Speedmaster is not the most legible.
The minute hand = 1, and the hour hand = 1.45

Damasko has a quick easy to read display. 
The minute hand = 1, and the hour hand = 1.53
There is no rule. If you are looking for justification you
could use the golden ratio. It is close enough, and there
is a lot of documented support for it.

I would not make the minute hand shorter than the minute marks.
The hand shape and contrast matters to legibility.


Thanks,
rationaltime


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## BarracksSi

rationaltime said:


> In my opinion the Speedmaster is not the most legible.
> The minute hand = 1, and the hour hand = 1.45
> 
> Damasko has a quick easy to read display.
> The minute hand = 1, and the hour hand = 1.53


Damasko (and Sinn, for that matter) toe the line, IMO, because the minute and hour tracks on some of their dials are so strong that they almost compete with the hands. If they toned down those marks, whether by making them shorter or narrower, they would still be easy to see.


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