I have read in the past (on another website site) about fancy pierced hands being original to Ball Illinois RR STD watches, One opinion was that original hands would be heavy spade and that a cache of fancy pierced hands were found and collectors scrambled to put then on their watches because some dealer promoted them as original. (They were advertised on Ball presentation watches). However, the hole sizes are larger than standard Illinois hands and the hour and minute wheels don't interchange. I don't know what other hands would fit.

Discovered that Waltham-Ball hour wheel and cannon pinion pinion will fit Illinois-Ball. And the hands interchange. I have no explanation for this.