10:10

Take a look at the three photos of watches. What do they all have in common?

10:10

From the good folks at the New York Times...

Because brand names generally are centered on the upper half of a watch, hands positioned at 10 and 2 “frame the brand and logo,” said Andrew Block, executive vice president at Tourneau, the watch retailer. “It’s almost like an unwritten rule that everyone understands to photograph a watch a 10:10.”

In previous eras, the more popular time in ads was 8:20, which shared the attributes of being symmetrical and not overshadowing logos, but hands pointing down struck some as, well, a downer. “It has the aesthetic of the smiley face to be 10 past 10, so we try whenever possible to opt for that,” Susanne Hurni, head of Ulysse Nardin’s advertising and marketing.

The Hamilton Watch Company was among the first to clock in at 10:10; that time is favored in ads dating at least as far back as 1926. Rolex began consistently setting watches in ads at 10:10 in the early 1940s.

Timex never deviates, even if that means the hands block features, said Adam Gurian, president of Timex. The company has an official time, 10:09:36, at which every watch — even digital models — is photographed for marketing purposes.

The next time you see an ad for a watch see if it reads 10:10.