Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History of Time

Description

An intricate and personal history of watches and time from an extraordinary watchmaker and historian A watchmaker's world is not much bigger than a thumbnail. I spend whole days working on mechanisms which can contain hundreds of tiny components. Each of them has a specific task to perform. Every morning when I sit at my bench, it is an adventure into a new timepiece with its own history to lose myself in. And in their history, we can find the history of time itself. Timepieces are one of humanity's most ingenious innovations. Their invention was more significant for human culture than the printing press, or even the wheel. They have travelled the world with us, from the depths of the oceans to the summit of Everest, and even to the Moon. They regulate our daily lives and have sculpted the social and economic development of society in surprising and dramatic ways. In Hands of Time watchmaker and historian Rebecca Struthers welcomes us into the hidden world of watchmaking, offering a personal history of watches that spans centuries and continents. From her workshop bench, Rebecca explores the ways in which timekeeping has indelibly shaped our attitudes to work, leisure, trade, politics, exploration and mortality, and introduces us to some extraordinary and treasured devices, each with their own story to tell. Hands of Time is an intricate and uniquely personal exploration of the history, science, philosophy, and craft of timekeeping.

Rebecca Struthers is a watchmaker and historian from Birmingham. She co-founded her workshop, Struthers Watchmakers, in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter in 2012. Rebecca and her watchmaker husband, Craig, use heritage equipment and traditional artisan techniques to restore antiquarian pieces and craft bespoke watches. They are among the last handful of watchmakers in the UK making watches from scratch. In 2017, Rebecca became the first watchmaker in British history to earn a PhD in horology. She lives in Staffordshire with Craig, her dog Archie, cats Isla and Alabama, and Morrissey the mouse.