How about the best of both worlds? I combined the answer with the OP's format.
function pretty_time_string(num) {
return ( num < 10 ? "0" : "" ) + num;
}
var start = new Date;
setInterval(function() {
var total_seconds = (new Date - start) / 1000;
var hours = Math.floor(total_seconds / 3600);
total_seconds = total_seconds % 3600;
var minutes = Math.floor(total_seconds / 60);
total_seconds = total_seconds % 60;
var seconds = Math.floor(total_seconds);
hours = pretty_time_string(hours);
minutes = pretty_time_string(minutes);
seconds = pretty_time_string(seconds);
var currentTimeString = hours + ":" + minutes + ":" + seconds;
$('.timer').text(currentTimeString);
}, 1000);