A minute hand should usually reach the minute track because that is the scale it reads. If its tip stops well short, you have to visually extend the hand to judge the exact minute.
The hour hand has a different job. It should be clearly shorter and normally relate to the hour-marker ring. That length contrast lets you identify the two hands instantly—even when they overlap or the light is poor.
Hand length is also part of the dial’s visual balance. A short minute hand can make the center feel crowded and leave the outer dial disconnected. A hand that is too long may cover the scale or collide with a raised marker or rehaut.
This is why a handset cannot be judged by style alone. Its lengths must suit the actual dial opening, marker positions, and case interior—not merely fit the movement’s hand posts.
Watcher Insight: check where each hand ends, not just how it looks. The minute hand should read the minute track cleanly; the hour hand should remain distinct; and all three hands still need safe vertical clearance.
