Nearly every watch advertisement, catalog, and product page shows the hands set to approximately 10:10. This convention dates back to at least the 1950s in its modern form, though early examples appear in ads from the 1920s. The reasons are a mix of practical design logic and subtle psychology that watch brands have relied on for decades.
It Frames the Brand Logo Perfectly
The most straightforward reason is visibility. Watch manufacturers almost always place their logo near the 12 o’clock position. When the hands sit at 10:10, they fan outward and upward like a V, framing the brand name rather than covering it. A time like 12:00 would place both hands directly over the logo. Settings like 3:00 or 9:15 would leave the hands in an asymmetrical, awkward arrangement that draws the eye away from the name.
Other time settings could technically keep the logo clear, but 10:10 does something extra: it also avoids covering the most common locations for date windows and subdials. On watches with additional features, these complications are typically positioned at 3, 6, or 9 o’clock. At 10:10, neither hand overlaps with any of those spots. A Rolex Daytona at 10:10, for example, keeps its logo framed, its date window at 3 o’clock fully visible, and all three chronograph subdials unobstructed. It’s a single setting that solves multiple display problems at once.
The “Smiley Face” Effect
There’s a less obvious reason that went unproven for years until researchers tested it directly. A 2017 study published in Frontiers in Psychology showed participants 20 different watches, each set to one of three times: 10:10, 8:20, or 11:30. Participants consistently perceived watches set at 10:10 as resembling a smiling face, with the two hands angling upward like raised cheeks. Watches at 8:20, with hands drooping downward, reminded viewers of a frowning face.
The key finding: watches set at 10:10 induced significantly stronger feelings of pleasure compared to both other time settings. Participants rated those watches more positively overall, even though none of them were consciously aware that the hand position was influencing their reaction. The 8:20 setting didn’t actively make people feel negative; it just failed to generate the positive emotional bump that 10:10 reliably produced. This subconscious association gives 10:10 a marketing edge that goes beyond simple logo placement.
Before 10:10, There Was 8:20
The 10:10 standard wasn’t always dominant. Judging from ads in Time magazine and retail catalogs, watch companies in the 1920s began standardizing hand positions for symmetry, and 8:20 was just as popular as 10:10 for a long time. Both create the same V-shaped, equiangular arrangement relative to the vertical axis of the dial. The difference is that 8:20 points the V downward.
You may have heard that 8:20 (or 8:18) commemorates the time Abraham Lincoln died, or that 10:10 marks the moment JFK was assassinated. Neither story is true. Sears Roebuck catalogs from before Lincoln conspiracy theories circulated show no standardized hand positions at all, and the convention predates JFK’s death by decades. These are folk explanations that attached themselves to an existing industry practice.
The shift toward 10:10 and away from 8:20 likely reflects the psychological findings that would later be confirmed by research: upward-pointing hands simply look more appealing than downward-pointing ones.
Why Some Brands Use 10:09 or 10:08
If you look closely at Apple Watch marketing images, you’ll notice the time reads 10:09, not 10:10. Timex has long used 10:09:36 in its product photography. These aren’t accidents. Brands make small adjustments around the 10:10 standard to suit the specific layout of their dial or, in some cases, to subtly signal that they’re “ahead” of the competition.
Timex reportedly adopted 10:09:36 to position itself as a step ahead of traditional luxury brands. Apple, arriving in the watch market much later, may have followed a similar instinct. But the adjustments are also practical. Moving the minute hand back by one minute, or positioning the second hand at a specific spot, can prevent even minor overlaps with particular dial elements on a given model. Professional watch photographers treat the general 10:10 zone as a starting point, then fine-tune the exact position for each individual timepiece before shooting.
What Photographers Actually Do
In commercial watch photography, setting the hands to 10:10 is the first step in a longer preparation process. Industry guidelines call for cleaning the watch thoroughly to eliminate fingerprints and dust, then manually positioning the hour, minute, and second hands to avoid any overlap with dial features. The second hand placement gets particular attention, since even a thin second hand crossing a subdial or logo can create visual clutter in a high-resolution product shot.
The goal is to present every element of the watch face in its clearest, most readable state. At 10:10, the hands create a balanced, open frame around the dial. The upper half of the watch face, where logos and brand names sit, stays unobstructed. The lower half, where date windows, moon phase displays, and power reserve indicators often appear, remains fully visible. No other single time setting accomplishes all of this as cleanly, which is why the convention has survived for over 70 years with no sign of changing.