Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum Message Archive

Somewhere down the page the question was raised as to which is the better end of the second hand for the luminous dot -- the "business" end which ticks off the seconds, or the "counterbalance" end. Having given at least several nanoseconds consideration to this question, here are my thoughts.

The second hand on a _dive_ watch is really only there as a quick check the watch is still running. Such a device is in fact a requirement under International Standard ISO-6425 (I think that's the one), which lays down requirements for dive watches intended for serious use. Since *real* divers (I'm not including myself here) often work in murky conditions, they have to be able to see the second hand move in the dark, hence the luminous display.

For diving purposes, it's immaterial which end of the hand the dot is placed. It just has to be seen to move. It's not there for timing things to the second. Thus other considerations come into play, such as the mechanical loading on the pipe that carries the hand, the effect on timekeeping of a mechanical movement with having an off-balance hand, the effect on battery life with a quartz movement of an off-balance hand, etc. Whilst being rugged, dive watches employ small components and all these effects, whilst small in themselves, can and do affect the operation of the movements.

From an intuitive standpoint, and all other things being equal, it makes sense that a balanced hand will cause less problems than an unbalanced one. I therefore lean towards having the dot act as a counterbalance, leaving the needle end of the hand unencumbered to mark off the "real" seconds. In fact, those designs which have a luminous "paddle" right at the tip offend my aesthetic sensibilities, precisely because they look unbalanced. (This doesn't mean to say all such hands should be forcibly removed by the divewatch police and replaced with "balanced" designs. I mean, some people actually _liked_ the design of the Ford Edsel -- including Henry himself, presumably.)

No, it's different strokes for different folks -- use whatever takes your fancy. Maybe R*lex got it right with the design of the second hand on the Submariner -- a luminous dot near the business end but not interfering with the needle nose for accurate readings, _and_ a counterbalance. The best of both worlds?

Cheers,

LesZ