Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History of Time

In-person and live webinar

Dr Rebecca Struthers PhD

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.

Rebecca will be talking to us about her book, Hands of Time, which is an intricate and uniquely personal exploration of the history, science, philosophy, and craft of timekeeping.

There will be opportunities to ask questions and get your copy of the book signed by the author. Books will be available to buy at the event.

 During her last event with us (over 150 people logged on during lockdown), there were many questions we didn’t get time to ask. Ahead of our next event together we wanted to chat to Rebecca and ask our most burning questions about her horological life and work. Read the interview here. 

 Image credit: Mike Smith

A FAN OF HORLOGY? YOU'LL LOVE REBECCA'S BOOK

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.