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Thread: GMT hand - 12 at 12 or 24 at 12?

  1. #1
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    GMT hand - 12 at 12 or 24 at 12?

    Bit of fun - for a Zulu watch it makes more sense (for me) to have 12 at the 12 noon (midday) position of a dial and 24 at 6 o’clock (midnight). With some mental gymnastics I’ve adjusted the new GMT to my preferred configuration. I think this work as the whole bezel is illuminated and has no bezel pip. Perhaps it would look strange on other GMTs with only a bezel pip at the 24h, not sure.

    This way, at noon (GMT) the 24h hand is at 12 o’clock. It can easily be used for a rough compass bearing when the sun shines!

    How do you wear your GMT (with rotating bezel)?

    pictures paint a thousand words. Original configuration:

    14:03:26


    revised:
    11:05:25.
    Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 4th February 2025 at 12:23.
    “ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG

  2. #2
    Master
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    I wear mine with the GMT hand at 12 at midnight, so this photo was taken at 1:17pm. Never thought about doing it the other way .. the bezel triangle would then be at the 6, which might trip my OCD a bit.


  3. #3
    Master sweets's Avatar
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    I am just getting a dial made up for a customisation using the Eberhard Diascope movement.
    It replaces the date mechanism with a 24-hr sub-dial (at 3) that is independently adjustable.
    I specifically went for this dial design.



    With a lightened section at the top from 6 to 18 so that the 24-hr hand acts as a "sun-position" indicator as well as showing an additional timezone.

    Having said that, I am not sure I would do it for a main dial 24-hr hand.

  4. #4
    Master pinpull's Avatar
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    Just as a talking point, a triangle seems a better option than a number on a bezel as I don’t believe there is such an hour as 24.00h, so not sure why it’s used?

    It’s 23.59h then 00.00h Midnight.

    I stand to be corrected


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Master PhilipK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinpull View Post
    I don’t believe there is such an hour as 24.00h, so not sure why it’s used?
    ISO 8601-1:2019/Amd 1:2022 allows the use of either 00:00:00 or 24:00:00 for midnight.

  6. #6
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinpull View Post
    Just as a talking point, a triangle seems a better option than a number on a bezel as I don’t believe there is such an hour as 24.00h, so not sure why it’s used?

    It’s 23.59h then 00.00h Midnight.

    I stand to be corrected


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Using search engines (I know it's old fashioned these days) it seems both zero hundred 0000 and twenty four hundred hours 2400 are both used. Typically, zero hundred hours at the beginning of the day and twenty four hundred hours at the end of the day.

    "Your station begins at zero hundred hours ends at twenty four hundred hours!"

    For a timepiece - as you say a bezel pip or triangle gets over this ambiguity! I don't think "00" would look great.
    “ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG

  7. #7
    Interesting question. I’ve always assumed that the convention arose because midnight is the most consequential time of day (the change of date) and therefore gets the most consequential point on the dial. That said, it is just convention so no reason to cleave to it if you prefer it your way, OP. Watch is looking great btw!

  8. #8
    Craftsman
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    I remember some Glycine Airman 24 hour models having "12 at top" and it making so much more sense to me.

    The FXD GMT looks great!

  9. #9
    Grand Master Dave E's Avatar
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    I had a Glycine Airman with 12 on top and it was much more intuitive for me. Sometimes I wish I hadn't sold it
    Dave E

    Skating away on the thin ice of a new day

  10. #10
    Master vRSG60's Avatar
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    24 at the top, pretty obvious really.
    24 hour clock, start at 0 hours ends at 24 !


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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