Triangles on watch dials

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perho
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Triangles on watch dials

Post by perho »

Can someone tell me why so many different companies put triangles on watches at 12 o'clock position. For me this ruins otherwise really nice dials. Why is it not square or circle or maybe little pink heart for girls :D ? Does it have some meaning? I understand triangle on bezel, it's like arrow to see better, faster,... but I don't understand why it's on dial.

Just few examples that I took from "Non CW of the Day" thread:

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Hope authors of these pictures don't mind that I borrowed them.
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Amor Vincit Omnia
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Very simple. A lot of these were pilots' or military watches and needed to be seen in the dark. Sometimes it's difficult to tell at a glance where the hands actually are if you can't see the watch case. Is it 3.30 or 4.35? Where's the crown, let me feel for it. The triangle ("duck face" if it has two dots) gives an instantaneous reference of where 12 is.

Well, that's my theory. :D
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by FloridaPhil »

Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:Very simple. A lot of these were pilots' or military watches and needed to be seen in the dark. Sometimes it's difficult to tell at a glance where the hands actually are if you can't see the watch case. Is it 3.30 or 4.35? Where's the crown, let me feel for it. The triangle ("duck face" if it has two dots) gives an instantaneous reference of where 12 is.

Well, that's my theory. :D
That's my understanding too.
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hughesyn
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by hughesyn »

Blame the nazis.

The B-Uhr specification has the triangle at 12.

For some reason the type A, with no inner chapter ring for hours, has the two dots. The B type gains the hour chapter but lost the dots.
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by cegusa »

FloridaPhil wrote:
Amor Vincit Omnia wrote:Very simple. A lot of these were pilots' or military watches and needed to be seen in the dark. Sometimes it's difficult to tell at a glance where the hands actually are if you can't see the watch case. Is it 3.30 or 4.35? Where's the crown, let me feel for it. The triangle ("duck face" if it has two dots) gives an instantaneous reference of where 12 is.

Well, that's my theory. :D
That's my understanding too.
My interpretation as well
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7ee
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by 7ee »

Circles have made the odd appearance ;)

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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by Thegreyman »

I think the question has already been answered correctly i.e. to get correct orientation of the 12 in low light conditions.

I used to have a different type of watch with a triangle on the watch dial, this Jacob & Co...before I saw the light :lol: Image
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by FloridaPhil »

You want triangles? You CAN'T HANDLE triangles!

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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by Thegreyman »

^^you win!
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

:lol: :lol:

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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by Watchamacallit »

As others have stated I also believe it is done to enhance readability, to orient the dial relative to its hands.

I believe a secondary reason is that pointing straight up (down) reinforces the concept of high-noon, relating back to over a century ago when time keeping was local and synchronized with solar noon.
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tempus fugit
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by tempus fugit »

Very early clockmakers were often engineer-scientists operating at the crossroads between invention and mysticism, and/or astronomers who worked with a mixture of wonder at the divine and of scientific reasoning when, like the Chinese and Arabian inventors, they looked up at the stars and created astronomical clocks. Later, European monks created measures of mechanical time, and so modern day horology was begun.

Therefore, given the heavy dose of mysticism associated with the early days of horology, it should also be noted that the direction of the triangle (upright or inverted) traditionally reflected the gender of the original wearer for whom the piece was created (such as when an armwatch was created for Elizabeth I), or their desire for the watch to reflect particular masculine or feminine energies.

Using the visual representation as a guide, an erect triangle reflects masculine energies, and the watch should correctly referred to as 'it/he' being, say, a 'handsome' piece. An inverted triangle reflects feminine energies, and the watch should be referred to as 'she' being, say, a 'beautiful' piece.

It's actually very important that a wearer of a watch with an upright or inverted triangle at 12 recognises the impact of the symbol's orientation in terms of his or her emotional energies on any given day, to avoid a disruption to their personal meridian frequencies. Not being in tune with your watch's energies can actually lead to headaches, mis-directed mail or even repeatedly treading in dogs' mess when out for a walk.

See this link for more details:

http://sebpearce.com/****/
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by missF »

^ :lol:
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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by FloridaPhil »

Philip Stein have a similar philosophy, or something....

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Re: Triangles on watch dials

Post by smegwina »

Well what the hell does this mean then?

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