Cathedral hands emerged on British military pilot watches in the 1930s-40s as a way to maximise the luminous-paint area on the hour and minute hands. The two-parallel-bar design with a lume-filled slot in the middle gives roughly 2x the lume area of a simple stick hand, improving low-light readability without making the hands visually heavy.
The modern revival is led by Panerai, which uses cathedral hands on its Radiomir and Luminor references as part of the brand's Italian Navy heritage aesthetic. Other modern users: Bremont (some pilot references), Stowa (Marine and pilot reissues), Hamilton vintage-spec military reissues. The shape remains associated with vintage military / pilot aesthetic; modern dive and dress watches rarely use cathedral hands.
