MTF
[PuristS]
13383
A Study in Angles
KMII,
Thank you for starting this topic.
I think there are certain positions of hands that "evolved" because of the conventional locations of displays on our wristwatches.
Generally, brand logos are at the top of the dial and date windows are at position 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 12 o'clock or between hour 4 and 5. Moonphase displays at 6 o'clock and power reserves either at hour 3 or 9.
To accommodate brand logos and symmetry, hour and minute hands are usually set to around 10:08 - 10:10. Some brands use 01:50. Then, the seconds hand is positioned to balance the dial dependent on the other bits of information already there e.g. 18 seconds, 37 seconds or any position that makes the seconds hand obvious and not obscure other displays.
Another factor is the date display. Since East Asian cultures consider numeral 8 as lucky and even from a graphic design viewpoint, it is a symmetrical numeral, '8' appears frequently. The same applies to the numeral '0'. Some brands use the numeral '2' instead because of its curves and also because 2-8 pronounced in some Chinese dialects is the homophone for 'Easy Prosperity'. In the past, Roger Dubuis sold most of their watches in S.E.Asia and to a Brunei prince/courtiers, who liked the 28-piece limited editions.
Here is a chronological trail of one brand L.U.C to illustrate the hands' positions set according to the principles above.
I also show a few specialised UTC dials from Montblanc.
Both brands have similar positions of seconds hand by evolution.
Sometimes, the photographer is not so precise that the seconds hand matches the minutes i.e. you'd expect the minute hand to be in between minute markers if the seconds hand is set at 37 seconds.
Please note the date displays for numeral '8' too.
The first is from 1996 and the series follows the PR photos for two decades.
10:08:00
10:09:50
Here, the date and seconds hands are set to parallel the hour and minutes hands.
10:09:37
The power reserve hand is set to '8' Days.
10:09:37
The month and year display hands are also symmetrical with the hour and minutes hands.
10:10:?
10:10:37
10:09:37
The day/24-h hands are opposite to the month/year hands.
10:10:37
Date display shows '8' .
10:08:22
Contrarian seconds hand is parallel to the hour hand instead.
10:08:15
The L.U.C 1963 Chrono PuristS edition has a true smiley face because the seconds hand is set horizontally..... 
10:11:35
The minutes hand is advanced a few minutes to not obscure the Qualite Fleurier logo as this was the first Triple-Certified watch from L.U.C: COSC, QF and Fairmined Gold.
The addition of UTC or GMT hands makes for variants in positioning for photography.
Montblanc TimeWalker UTC Chronograph
Montblanc 1858 UTC Automatic
Regards,
MTF
Watch brands differ in their view of the smiling watch face, it seems
Not sure either...
A Study in Angles
