Clock face

A clock face is the front part of a clock.

Early clocks with faces had simple movements with simple movements that drove a single hand, the hour hand, around the dial. Later, minute hands and second hands were added, but the typical face of an analog clock continues to have primary markings at the twelve hours.

Certain clocks have 24-hour analog displays and are marked accordingly. On the other hand, some clocks are designed for measuring periods less than an hour, such as darkroom timers and sporting event clocks. Where these are analog, they feature only minute and second hands.

Many clocks have decorative faces. Not only are decorations painted on the face, but the style of the hour numbers varies. Grandfather clocks typically used Roman numerals for the hours, with "IIII" (rather than "IV") representing 4 in order to achieve symmetry with "VIII" for 8.

In many instances, particularly in the case of watches, the numbers and occasionally even the hour markings are omitted. The face of the Movado "Museum Watch" is known for a single dot at the 12 o'clock position.

The display portion of a digital clock is also typically referred to as its face.