The display of an analog watch is not digital, it was created to differentiate analog watches (referred to as "watches" for short) from newer digital watches. It strictly refers to the design of the display, regardless of the timing technology used in the watch movement or module, although its counterpart "digital watch" usually means (in most people's eyes) digital electronics. Meanwhile, a digital watch is one that displays the time as a series of numbers. An analog watch is a display that is not digital, but is (usually) indicated by the continuous movement of one, two or three rotating hands or hands pointing to numbers arranged on a circular dial (the movement of the hour hand is similar to that of the sun passing through path of the sky).

Analog watches have hands to show the time. An hour is short and thick. A minute long and thin. Sometimes the second hand is long and thin, which is obviously the second hand because it is 60 times faster than the hand and 720 times faster than the hour hand. Some analog watches don't have the numbers printed on them; the numbers can still be determined because the strap is always at 12&6. Usually only the 12 o'clock position is marked, or only the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions.