Beginner photographer ask for opinion

They look great!
One thing I would recommend minimize the empty space in the pics and get closer/crop.

Have fun.

Move the hands into better positions. 🤪

I think the pictures already look nice.
I agree with @Dan S and @sxl2004.

Half the fun of photography is post-processing. I visited an Ansel Adams exhibit at my local fine arts museum, where I encountered two prints created from the same negative, positioned at opposite ends of the room. The first print appeared quite ordinary—it was pleasant, yet it seemed within reach of an amateur photographer's skills. In stark contrast, the second print was extraordinary, showcasing the brilliance of a master artist at work. Ansel Adams is widely celebrated as a great photographer, but his expertise extended far beyond just capturing images; he was also an outstanding printer. His meticulous darkroom techniques allowed him to transform his negatives into stunning prints, emphasizing that photography is not merely about taking pictures but about crafting them through careful manipulation and artistic vision.
Today, post-processing tools are so versatile and easier to use than Adams could have imagined.

Yes, move the hands to 10:10 for better dial symmetry and a "professional" look.

I was able to learn some photography in Edward Weston's darkroom, which his descendants had in the back of the house. It was quite large a full room. Similarly the high school I attended had a large darkroom set up on much of the same plan. A neghboring community darkroom also had a large room for processing. Pretty much the whole house. They would give lectures and many had studied with Adams. I think my father did.

Photography is lenses and light. Understanding the lens is the main thing. There is a tendency to forget that the print enlarger lenses are as important as the camera lenses. This is not as important as it once was. As noted above, with scanning and digital post production tools we have access to a lot more control over the product.

One thing humans are good at is making millions if not billions of copies of things with tight tolerances. The mathematics of lenses and light is well understood. Those cheap instamatic cameras are testimonies to this. Even the digital camera lenses are amazing in their consistency.

Still good lenses, like good watches demand high prices. For much of the same reasons.

Returning to the subject at hand. These darkrooms were large. Full sized rooms. Comfortable, easy to move around in. I an other relations would use the bathroom, or space under the staircase. Such darkrooms are cramped and a bit uncomfortable.

Here is a quick shot of the other side of my desk, where all the camera stuff has migrated. I have been working with film scanners and scanner gates for the lamented APS formats. It is real easy to get lost in the setups and lose focus (pun intended) as to what whole point of the project is.

Others have given you plenty of tips, but I'll try and add some practical ones. When you don't do this professionally and your space is limited, one has to be creative. I'm using a collapsible photo box which I can store in a case when I don't need it. It has LED panels on the sides and on the top. The latter can be opened fully or partially, and it's convenient to control the angle it shines on the crystal to minimize reflections and washout of the dial.

As for gear, nothing fancy. I use a Nikon Z6II with a 24-120 f/4, a basic tripod, and a couple of macro extension tubes. I'll eventually upgrade to a proper macro lens, but if you don't have the budget, the tubes work great. You don't need spectacular gear to produce great looking photos. Only upgrade when you actually feel your current gear is getting in the way.

I hardly do focus stacking as that takes too much time in post processing. I'm usually shooting at f/13, which at those distances is relatively shallow. If I need to have as much in focus as possible, I'll crank it to f/22. Diffraction is a factor at those apertures, but less than you may imagine. Especially if your medium of exposure is social media or forums, having less-than-spectacular sharpness isn't that big of a deal.

For backgrounds, I've bought some sheets of leather vinyl (faux leather) in different colors that I try to match with the watch or the mood I'm going. I may use colored paper, printed photographs (for example for a wood or bark pattern), magazines, or whatever may be interesting. Props also add some dimension and everything goes: old cameras, lenses, model cars, lighters, pens, whatnot.

A white sheet of paper in front, below the camera, also helps a lot in minimizing reflections. Remember, the camera also reflects and the closer you are, the bigger the reflections. Good luck.

Some photos I've shared recently: https://omegaforums.net/threads/sharing-my-latest-watch-photos.178546/

I agree with @Dan S to move the hands into a better position but other than that I'm very jelous. I wish I could take nice pictures like that.