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People are only just realising clever reason watches are always set to same time in adverts

People are only just realising why watches are set to the same time in adverts after seeing a TikTok video of a user explaining the reason

[Pedestrians walk past an advertisement for an Omega Speedmaster wristwatch, produced by Omega SA, a unit of Swatch Group AG., in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan]

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It's likely you haven't noticed this about watch adverts before(Image: Bloomberg)

People are only just learning the clever reason behind why watches are always set to the same time in adverts.

You might have never noticed this before but watches always appear to show the time 10 past 10 in adverts with the small hand on the number 10 and the big hand on the number 2. If you browse for a watch online you will likely see that it is set to this time.

TikTok user Sarah Griffiths created a video to illustrate this by showing photos of watches from different brands all set to the time 10 past 10. She claimed the reason for this is because it looks like a smile.

Sarah said: I forgot that I know this really cool fact about watches but I dont know if everybody already knows it and its just me that thinks its cool but basically every watch advert you see the watch will always be at 10 past 10. She explained: So apparently the reason they do this is because it emulates the shape of a smile to make you feel positive emotions and make you want to buy that watch or at least associate positive emotions with that watch."

She concluded: Anyway, yeah I just thought thats really interesting and now every time I see a watch advert I always notice this, 10 past 10. Her TikTok video has received 59,000 views, more than 2,000 likes and dozens of comments.

Some people who left a comment expressed that they didnt notice this about watches before. Comments included I didnt know this actually, honestly never thought about that and I actually never realised this before so thank you!

Another person said: Thats actually really interesting. Someone with experience with watches added: Yes I worked in a jewellers and we were to set all the watches on display to ten past ten or ten to two for a smile shape.

A different TikTok user learnt this fact from a book. They said: I once read this in a book and now its a random fact I tell everyone. One user praised Sarah as they commented: Well spotted.

Another reason why watches are often set to this time in adverts is to show the brands logo, as pointed out by a few people who saw Sarahs video. A user claimed the information Sarah gave in her clip is 100% true and they added but also to show the logos too.

A second echoed: Its to show and highlight the logo on the watch face. Almost all brands design their logos to be at the top of the watch face so it makes sense for advertisers to set watches to an ideal time, like 10:10, to not cover the logo.

Luxury watch brand Tufina gives more insight on the benefits of the 10:10 position: "The hands are not overlapping, so they're fully and clearly visible and their styling can be admired. The arrangement of the hands is symmetrical, which people generally find more pleasant than asymmetry, making the product more appealing to customers.

"The manufacturer's logo, usually in the center of the face under the 12, is not only visible but nicely framed by the hands. Additional elements on the face (like date windows or secondary dials), usually placed near the 3, 6, or 9, won't be obscured."

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