Why do new watches and watches in advertising usually mark 10:10? Many conjectures have been made in this regard. We will try to explain the real reason for 10:10.First things first, and let's leave the myths out. There are a lot of people out there who think that clocks in advertising and store ads show the time when Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King died. In fact, Lincoln was shot at 10:15 p.m. and died the next morning at 7:22 p.m., JFK was killed at 12:30 p.m. and declared dead at 1 p.m., and Martin Luther King was shot at 6:01 p.m. and declared dead one hour later at 7:05 p.m. JFK was shot at 6:01 p.m. and declared dead one hour later.
Another theory says that it was at 10:10 the time an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, or in Nagasaki, and that such time is in the memory of the victims who survived. The truth is that the bomb 'Fat Boy' fell on the first city at 11:02 in the morning, local time; and the bomb 'Little Boy' was dropped on Nagasaki at 8:15 in the morning, local time.
But what was the real reason for establishing such a time? Simple aesthetics. The 10:10 position gives the watch a series of benefits:
-The hands do not overlap, so they are full and clearly visible and their style can be admired.
-The arrangement of the hands is symmetrical, which is more pleasant than an asymmetrical position, making the product more attractive to customers.
-The manufacturer's logo, usually in the middle of the dial on the 12 o'clock frame, is not only visible, but is very well framed by the hands.
-Additional elements on the cover (such as the date window) are usually placed close to 3, 6, or 9, so that they are not hidden by the hands.
According to Timex people (who set the time of their clocks at 10:09:36 exactly), the old standard configuration used was 8:20, but this made the cover seem to frown. To give it a "happier" face, the time was set to a smile (sometimes you can still see the 8:20 arrangement on some watches when the manufacturer's logo is on the bottom of the cover above 6).
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