This is what Sala calls em. Do we agree? Just came up again.

 

Well, no, given that he also calls lugs "handles".

 

Good question Larry, my thoughts...

I used to use the term Alpha for those hands, probably because I read it in Sala. Over time and research I believe that is not the preferred nomenclature (which I think is lozenge)

I don't think we can say that any of these terms are "wrong". I think there are some terms used for hand type within certain brands, and within certain countries, and certain languages. So I think these are more conventions than facts. It could be that in Italy, that hand shape is typically called Alpha by UG collectors.

However in researching hand shape names in general, I don't think most ppl would agree. Having googled many different articles on hand shape names, I believe this is what most people would call Alpha (if I may borrow two of your photos )

I'm curious to hear what other ppl think....

 

Lozenge is a new one on me.....

 

Not alpha/lance hands for me.

 

There's no way that I could recall where I saved them from, but this is fairly extensive, and seems accurate as far as I can see. In which case, these would not be Alpha, but perhaps, by inference, Losange squelettes, i.e. Diamond skeleton.



And from OMEGA, somewhere (also confirming not Alpha):

 

I will continue to call them sword hands until someone here tells me that I am wrong.

 

these are sword hands IMO. It's less obvious on the hour hand, more so on the minute hand, but the max width of the hand is much further out towards the tip, rather than midway like for lozenge. Some other sword hands are just a full taper, center to point, without an obvious angled flare. But whatever, this stuff is obviously up for interpretation

 

I had a titanium Seamaster like that. Definitely called those sword hands.

 

I believe that this Seamaster has Alpha Lance hands

 

Great comments and more hand charts! Losange squelettes Or Losange, seems to be the term ….

 

Not just sword hands, but Roman gladius sword hands!

 

Donald DeCarle calls this style “lozenge, skeleton”.

 

What I think of when I hear Lozenges...



Always preferred calling them swords instead (despite the great explanation given above why not to).

 

Of the 60 watch hand styles shown in De Carle’s book Watchmaker’s and Clockmaker’s Encyclopædic Dictionary, he doesn’t list a style he calls sword. “Arrow”, yes, but not sword. The style was also called lozenge by another respondent in this thread. Lozenge works for me!