The dial is essential so that the current time can also be read from a watch. It is subdivided into different areas to display the time or its units, which, in combination with the hands of the watch, ensures an easily readable time. The classic subdivision of the dial into twelve equally sized sections allows the hour to be displayed with the hour hand. The next subdivision of the dial is usually into 60 sections, whereby the minute and second hands can be used to display the smaller time units. On dials, the sections are additionally identified by so-called indices, which is done with the numbers from 1 to 12 for the hours and, with the minute and second divisions ranging from 0 to 60, is often only implemented in stages of 5 or 10 so as not to overload the dial. The fact that a dial is exactly as it is and that the time on it can always be read instinctively is probably also due to the characteristic and always identical arrangement of the digits. These are intended to remind us of the path of the sun during the course of the day, which also explains the 12 digits at the top of the dial.
