Clock hands are the pointers that move around a clock dial to indicate hours, minutes and sometimes seconds or other information such as the date or moon phase. Usually made of steel or brass, they are fitted to the arbors of the motion work and are among the most visible and characterful parts of any clock.
Early English clocks had a single hour hand, and the minute hand became standard in the late seventeenth century as accuracy improved. Antique hands were cut, filed and pierced by hand, and their designs follow fashion closely: elaborate pierced and scrolling hour hands on early longcase clocks, matching brass hands on painted dial clocks of the later eighteenth century, and the familiar spade, Breguet, fleur-de-lis and poker patterns on nineteenth-century bracket, wall and French clocks. Steel hands were often heat-blued to a deep colour for legibility and protection. Because hands are easily lost or broken, many clocks now have replacements, and an expert will check that the style, size and proportion match the date of the dial. Well-matched original hands are a mark of an honest clock, while crude modern replacements can noticeably detract from its appearance.
