12/24H wristwatch

Time format 12/24 h

— a special function of watches with arrow dials, which allows you to specify what time of day the hands show — before noon or after noon. Usually, for this, the design provides for a small auxiliary dial that displays the current hour in 24-hour format. For example, at 8 o'clock in the morning this dial will show 8 o'clock, at 8 o'clock in the evening — 20 o'clock (while the main hour hand, recall, in both cases will be on the number 8). Such an opportunity can be useful in conditions where it is impossible to determine the time of day from the environment — for example, in polar day / night conditions, or when you stay underground for a long time.

We emphasize that this function is not relevant for electronic watches: they initially show time either in a full 24-hour format, or in 12-hour format with the specification "AM" (before noon) or "PM" (after noon), and many models allow also switch between these formats at will.