Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History

by Rebecca Struthers

An award-winning watchmaker—one of the few practicing the art in the world today—chronicles the invention of time through the centuries-long story of one of mankind’s most profound technological achievements: the watch.

Timepieces have long accompanied us on our travels, from the depths of the oceans to the summit of Everest, the ice of the arctic to the sands of the deserts, outer space to the surface of the moon. The watch has sculpted the social and economic development of modern society; it is an object that, when disassembled, can give us new insights both into the motivations of inventors and craftsmen of the past, and, into the lives of the people who treasured them.

Hands of Time is a journey through watchmaking history, from the earliest attempts at time-keeping, to the breakthrough in engineering that gave us the first watch, to today – where the timepieces hold cultural and historical significance beyond what its first creators could have imagined. Acclaimed watchmaker Rebecca Struthers uses the most important watches throughout history to explore their attendant paradigm shifts in how we think about time, indeed how we think about our own humanity. From an up-close look at the birth of the fakes and forgeries industry which marked the watch as a valuable commodity, to the watches that helped us navigate trade expeditions, she reveals how these instruments have shaped how we build and then consequently make our way through the world.

A fusion of art and science, history and social commentary, this fascinating work, told in Struthers’s lively voice and illustrated with custom line drawings by her husband and fellow watchmaker Craig, is filled with her personal observations as an expert watchmaker—one of the few remaining at work in the world today. Horology is a vast subject—the “study of time.” This compelling history offers a fresh take, exploring not only these watches within their time, but the role they played in human development and the impact they had on the people who treasured them. 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Memoir, Technology, Audiobook, Art

288 pages, Hardcover

First published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

Interesting book by a watchmaker, about the history of horology and most specifically the origins of the watch. It's mostly very much at the practical end with some musing about time and how we experience it and a rather lovely concentration on the tactile. Niche, interesting and likeable. I remain baffled how watches work or ever could have worked but that's my own engineering ineptitude.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Rebecca Struthers is a watchmaker with extensive knowledge and experience. In this book she traces the history of timekeeping, watchmaking and repair over the centuries! It’s a fascinating book that is full of information and history about watches and clocks. For anyone interested in this topic, Hands of Time is the perfect book for you. However, for me, it was literally too much information!! I had to put this book aside for another time. I was completely overwhelmed. But I tip my hat and say bravo to Ms Struthers - the first person in British history to earn a degree in horology (the history and art of making timepieces). The world of watchmaking and repair as well as clock making needs more specialists like her!

Update 🤭: I picked up my copy again and am totally immersed in the history detailed in this book! It’s a winner for sure 😁. The “time” I spent reading this book (pun intended) was worth every minute!!

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

History can sneak up on you. For instance, I had no idea I would read a book about watchmaking this year. I am equally as surprised that I loved it.

Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers seems like the type of idea which is not going to work unless it's thousands of pages. After all, how do you write about how humans deal with keeping time? It's inconceivable that a narrative can discuss the origins of Rolex and Swatches. And yet, here we are. Struthers approaches this history with a eye for interesting stories which sum up large portions of the human relationship with time. And yes, you do learn about both Rolex and Swatch. Long live terrible fashion choices from the 80s and 90s.

The one criticism I have is actually a compliment. Struthers points out how particularly "uncool" her choice of profession is. She has quick asides about her own journey, but she often pivots back to the main story. I disagree with her "uncoolness." Her passion for what she is doing alongside her husband is exceedingly cool and I would have loved a bit more on her own journey to being a master watchmaker. However, if she was trying to leave the reader wanting more, then she nailed it.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Harper Books.)

[Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am very interested in clocks and timekeeping, so I was excited to pick up this book. I was hoping to learn something about the details of the mechanisms, how they work, and how they have changed over time. Unfortunately, that's not what this book is really about. With the exception of a brief description of the most basic verge escapement from early tower clocks, this book doesn't really give any information on how the mechanisms work. It does mention the names of milestone mechanisms to note improvement through time, but there aren't even diagrams of many of them. Rather, more attention is given to changes in the social and cultural role of timekeepers through time and the resultant design and formfactor shifts. In fact, more attention is given to the author's own biography than to the mechanisms inside the watches. That's not where my interest lies.

[Laura Noggle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief overview of the vast subject that is horology—the “study of time.” Not so much in theory, although we do touch on Einstein and relativity, more so about the way humans clock the passage. Beginning with the earliest recorded methods of tracking time through the evolution of time pieces and their socioeconomic impact on society (love, wars, wealth, exploitation, even life saving), Struthers packs a lot into 288 pages.

Informative, interesting, and fast paced, I especially appreciated the adventurous background of time markers.

𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕦𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤, 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕙𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕔𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕤, 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕠𝕟.

The author is a watchmaker, bringing an inside and personally passionate look into the history. Her husband is also a watchmaker and drew all the amazing sketches in the book. There were also color images of famous timepieces, including Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s pocket watch that accompanied him on the ill-fated 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢 𝘕𝘰𝘷𝘢 expedition to the South Pole.

Data enthusiasts will love the detailed footnotes, glossary of terms, bibliography, further rescues, and extensive notes.

From sundials and rope knots to Rolexes, Swatches, and everything in between, this was a fantastic introduction to the topic.

Thank you to @HarperBooks for the gifted copy, I do recommend the physical book for all the visuals and as a reference.

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed several exhibitions of old clocks, but, until reading this book, had not given much thought to their tiny, portable cousins – watches. This book takes you through the history, development and intricate workings of watches – from antique fob watches to fashion accessory Swatches. Britain once led the world in watchmaking – but no longer. It is a dying art.
The author is one of the very few female watchmakers. She is an artisan, and passionate about her art. The passion comes through on every page of the book. You end up knowing more than you could have ever imagined about watches, and a burning desire to own a fabulous old watch. Doesn’t have to be a Rolex – just old, mechanical and analogue.
I feel we have lost so much now we often no longer wear watches and rely on our smart phones to tell the time. Digital time is always accurate, but has neither beauty nor romance.
This is a book about a subject you may not have previously had much of an interest in, but after reading it, you will never look at a watch again with anything other than wonder.

[Timothy Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, let me say this isn't a book I would just pick up off the shelf and read, but I got it as a gift for Christmas and so it went on my list of books for the year, and boy am I glad I did. What an outstanding book!

The author is a horologist (watch/clock maker/repairer) and a historian the blend of watch and clock-making history with the corresponding historical background of the day was superb.

If you appreciate watches and history, you will appreciate this book.

Her writing style was very engaging and captivating. It really was a joy to read.

She included a chapter on how she goes about the process of repairing watches.

There are only 260 pages with an index and glossary of terms.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the first book I read about watchmaking and it was a fascinating travel that involves more than I thought.
The author is a good storyteller and this book is never boring or dry.
A good informative and entertaining book, well researched and well written.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Nicholas Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, while it was about clocks.

A fascinating and elucidating trip through the history of human timekeeping, told by a master clock maker with the ability to appreciate the engineering and design of each new invention and improvement. This is one of the few Audible titles where I went looking for an accompanying PDF, hoping to see some of the wondrous objects being described; alas, only to come up empty. If this were the whole of the book (and had a PDF), it would easily have been 5 stars.

Unfortunately, Rebecca often drifts off course into politics, economics, and sociology, wherein her talents clearly do not lay. Just as one example: a whole chapter serves no purpose in furthering the story of time keeping, and only exists so that at the end she can trumpet the virtues of socialized healthcare; a chapter in which she recounts how her (socialized) doctors misdiagnosed and gaslit her for years telling her repeatedly that her symptoms were imaginary until she badgered them into doing more tests that revealed she had MS. Yeah, not exactly a ringing endorsement of the NHS despite the literary 'happy ending' she gave it in that chapter. And despite being one of the most skilled and sought-after (not to mention highly-paid) practitioners in her field, she is constantly entreating the audience to see her as a victim for being, alternatingly, not like the other girls (a girl who makes clocks, can you even imagine!), and not like the other clock makers (a clock maker who is a girl, preposterous!).

The entire work would be a little bit shorter, and a whole lot better if Rebecca had simply stuck to the subject at hand.

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a great work of non fiction! kept me totally fascinated the whole way through and i learnt heaps about the history of clocks and watches - who knew it could be so interesting..

[Andrea Samorini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un interessante bel viaggio attraverso la storia e le innovazioni introdotte dai mastri orologiai, con l’occhio di una del mestiere.

Mi hanno entusiasmato particolarmente le parti storiche degli inventori.
Dal primo orologio, il Watch 1505 di Peter Henlei (Norimberga, 1505)


Thomas Mudge, che integró un calendario perpetuo in un orologio portatile, nel 1764
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L’incredibile evoluzione che portò John Harrison a sviluppare l’H4

Se potete leggete anche il bellissimo libro che ne ripercorre la storia di Dava Sobel Longitudine, e fatevi un giro per vederli, sono tutti esposti presso la Time and Longitude gallery al Royal Observatory di Greenwich.

Le vicissitudini di Abraham-Louis Breguet ed il suo Marie-Antoinette N°1160, del 1783.

[Joaquin Montero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una mezcla rara entre libro de historia de la relojería y biografía de la autora que no me termina de convencer. El libro es muy lento, nunca logro despertar en mi suficiente interés como para tener ganas de avanzar, la redacción es pesada y por muchos momentos aburrida y eso que tiene historias muy interesantes dentro de sí, creo que con una forma más ligera de contar las historias el libro se disfrutaría muchísimo más.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I think what I really wanted was a youtube video about clocks work. But this was not bad.

[Leticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and easy to absorb, just what I want from a non-fiction book.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful stroll through the history of timekeeping, from an ancient carved bone, to sundials, to the first mechanical clocks, to the modern wristwatch and atomic clocks. Told from the unique perspective of Rebecca Struthers, master watchmaker and historian, I really loved how the author’s passion for watchmaking shined through. It read like a well-written documentary with many interesting tidbits and stories woven throughout.

[Peter Tillman]

Nature's short review, from their list of the Five Best: https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
"‘Time’ is “the most commonly used noun” in English, according to Rebecca Struthers, the first professional watchmaker in the United Kingdom to earn a PhD in horology. Each chapter of her exquisitely crafted history explores a pivotal moment in watchmaking from the past 500 years. Mechanical timekeepers, she argues, have influenced human culture as much as the printing press. Imagine trying to catch a train by depending on the Sun’s position, or to perform an organ transplant without measuring the patient’s heart rate precisely."

Expected publication June 13, 2023
Reviews of ARCs here are uniformly positive (4.4 avg, as of 5/20/23). I'll look for it if/when our libraries get a copy.

[DianaDev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. A really fascinating look at history focusing on time in general and the advancements in watchmaking and how this changed the way we work over the years since the first town clocks. It was thorough and detailed but not dry, it reads more like you met the author at a dinner party and had a fascinating conversation about watches. Their enthusiasm leaps off the page so if, like me, you love getting someone talking about their special interest and you like to hear about watches or just areas of history and engineering that don't usually come up outside of textbooks then I highly suggest you grab this book.

[Yen-Yi Juo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es gibt viele Möglichkeiten, ein Buch über die Zeit zu schreiben. Man kann über die Maschinen sprechen, die der Mensch erfunden hat, um Zeit zu messen, über die vergeblichen Versuche, Zeit zu kontrollieren, oder über die faszinierende Elastizität der Zeit und die Traurigkeit der Vergehens nachzudenken. Oder man kann alles machen, wie Rebeccas es hier tut.

Ich bin ein Liebhaber mechanischer Uhren. Meine Faszination für diese kleinen Maschinen ist hauptsächlich ästhetisch. Ich finde die Ausgewogenheit und Einfachheit von Designs einer vergangenen Ära sowohl beschwörend als auch inspirierend. Damals verfügten die Menschen über weniger materielle Besitzungen und schenkten daher jedem Ding, das sie besaßen, mehr Aufmerksamkeit und Sorgfalt. Beim Betrachten alter Uhren hatte ich das Gefühl, eine kleine Auszeit von der Moderne zu nehmen und einen Spaziergang in die Vergangenheit zu machen.

Selten finde ich Veröffentlichungen, die meine Sensibilität für alte Uhren widerspiegeln. Die meisten Artikeln über Uhren sind leider kaum verhüllte Printwerbung für Produkte, in der über Luxus geredet wird, als sei das eine gute Sache. Daher war ich sehr froh, dieses Buch gefunden zu haben, in dem der Autor eine sympathische Herangehensweise an Uhren als schöne Objekte verfolgt, deren Wert unabhängig und oft trotz ihres Geldwerts existiert, wie etwa bei den niederländischen Fälschungen von John Wilkert. Ich genieße besonders Passagen, bei denen sie über ihr Lebensstil als Uhrmacherin schrieb. Für mich scheint die Uhrmacherei ein unglaublich geheimnisvoller und romantischer Beruf zu sein. Ich liebe es, über ihren Spaziergang im Wald, die Stille in ihrem Atelier und die unzähligen kleinen Einzelteile, die in den Ritzen ihres Holzbodens versteckt sind, zu lesen.

Das letzte Kapitel, „Wie man eine Uhr repariert“, eine technische Beschreibung, wie man eine Uhr zerlegt und wider zusammenheilt, ist eine virtuose Demonstration ihrer schriftstellerischen Fähigkeiten, die Nicholas Baker stolz machen wird. Wenn ich es lese und es genießt, mache ich mir Sorgen, in welches Kaninchenloch mich der Autor verführt hat.

[Snoakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands of Time is subtitled A Watchmaker's History of Time, and that's exactly what it is. Rebecca Struthers takes us on a fascinating journey through history looking at our relationship to time and timekeeping. She explores this through the watches and other timepieces that were significant to technical design, changing fashions and society's attitudes to time.

As well as all the history, there are personal anecdotes relating to the author's own journey as a watchmaker - the studying, the struggle to set up a business with her husband, the tools and machinery they use. She also offers insights into the intricate detailed work she does every day and introduces us to some of the beautiful pieces she has worked on.

It's a thoroughly interesting read, and the text is accompanied by some exquisite drawings. Recommended reading for anyone who likes a mix of science and history with a bit of personal memoir thrown in for good measure.

[Beth Selesky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun, poignant, and a lovely reminder that the history of telling time and watch making is as intricate and complicated as the moments that make up our lives. With a well crafted watch, we can measure a fraction of eternity yet hold it in the palm of our hand, and later, pass it along for future generations so they too can become a part of its story and treasured moments. Moments treasured because time is a most precious gift for life, and life, a gift beyond measure.

[Tara Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative and enjoyable read. Struthers does a wonderful job conveying the complex history of timekeeping and what it has meant (largely in a western context) over the centuries of development.

Full of insight and often moving, I would recommend this to anyone with even a passing interest in the history of timekeeping and watchmaking/watch repair.

[Max Troiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun jaunt through time (pun intended) and a testament to creative ingenuity, but a little scatter-brained. It’s clear that the author is a professional watchmaker, not a writer, as knowledge and enthusiasm comes at the expense of narrative grace.

[Ivor Armistead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebecca Struthers has crafted a beautifully written book about the history of time keeping and time pieces that reminds us of the values of human craftsmanship and that there are joys in the analog world that should savored.

[Abant Berke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cool to read how the development of watchmaking paralleled world history but I unfortunately can’t really picture things in my head so every word about the mechanical functioning of watches went right over my smooth brained head. Also I have some watchmakers tools at work and they are so fucking tiny I have utmost respect for watchmakers

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating history of timekeeping from Harrison to Hamilton, from Sundials to Seikos. On the basis of the author's profession I had, I admit, mistaken it to be a book about watches. In fact only a handful of chapters at the end are dedicated to wrist watches.

Instead, it is a book that covers the full history of the world as it relates to timekeeping. How the measurement of time has been used to save lives, proclaim love, exploit workers, explore the world, fight wars, symbolise wealth, and sustain economies. In that way it's much more wide-reaching, and of wider appeal, than a book just about watches. It shows how timekeeping has underpinned, supported, or enabled a vast cross-section of historical events as wide-ranging as the French revolution and the moon landings - though the latter only garners a single short sentence. In watch circles people are often tribally divided into Omega or Rolex fans, and Struthers seems rather to be in the Rolex camp, dedicating at least a whole chapter to Rolex, and barely a sentence to Omega. I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the Accutron, quartz, swatch, and digital watches, which felt like a fitting and complete way to finish the story. Also pleasing was the mature and socially aware discussion of difficult topics such as Nazi watches, British colonial history, the subjugation and exploitation of women, enslaved people, and children throughout history.

Throughout, I was reminded of Longitude by Dava Sobell, and Mudlark by Lara Maiklem. If you imagine the former but much longer and written by the latter, you'd have a fair idea of how this book reads. I loved both those books, so that's to be read as a strong recommendation from me.

A very enjoyable, quick, read full of fascinating history, wonderful reflective thoughts on time itself, and just the right balance of history, science, and the authors' own experiences as a watchmaker.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting combo of the history of timekeeping and watches, along with her personal story. Her breadth and depth of knowledge is impressive. She also does pretty well at communicating complex information very simply (though it did go over my head at times, more a reflection of where my head is rather than her writing).

[Tyler Kom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hands of Time is an anthropology of human history through the lens of timekeeping/watches/horology. Anthropology is a subject I've only scraped the surface of in my studies so I was excited to give this book a go. Ripping the band-aid right off the bat: this is a decently dry book. I'm not talking about textbook style, but if you aren't at all interested in horology, this will be absolutely horrific to read.

The Good:
Brings up very interesting points about human history. I like that the book doesn't quite make the claim that we were shaped by the discovery of horology, but more that it reflects out world and society where it is. There are a ton of super well researched insights and I loved the historical tie-ins. It's easy to imagine Obama wearing a Rolex, but difficult to imagine Napoleon wearing a Breguet. Awesome to humanize these mythical figures a bit. She is very knowledgeable and doesn't bog the book down with too much over technicalities.

Bad:
Possibly bad for some, it was -meh- for me: the writing perspective. This is written first person from the perspective of the author. We go with her through her journey as a watchmaker and get flashed back in time like a montage when the author sees any particular historical watch. I kind of like the intention in writing it this way. It humanizes the entire craft and certainly makes it more readable. However, more than once I asked myself "why is she telling me this right now". It was hit-or-miss for me. Also slightly wish she devoted an extra chapter to the 1900s era of watchmaking, but I understand.

Recommending this book ONLY to watch nerds. Really like the "how to repair any watch" section at the end, the glossary, and the index(!!!). This could certainly be used as a very very weak textbook for everything watches and horology. Not sure how much history nerds will get out of this. I'll probably come back to it occasionally as reference material.

[Evan Maizlish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gotta say - I had a very hard time getting into this book. I enjoyed the history in how the importance of keeping time evolved into what watches represent today, but it was a slow drawn out process. Perhaps a symbolism of how watches are made

[Stella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've ever read! I feel incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon it during my trip, and I take great pride in owning it. (Bonus: being one of the first reviewers on Goodreads! Haha, pardon me. I just love it when found under-hyped rare treasure)

This book is a true gem! It delves into the world of watchmaking, offering a unique perspective from the eyes of a watchmaker. It reads like an autobiography, intertwining the history of time and watchmaking, and providing detailed insights into the creation of each component. The author's ethereal writing style adds a touch of fantasy to the reading experience. It's a book that captivates the curious mind.

Coincidentally, I purchased this book while my husband and I were attending a watchmaking workshop. It beautifully expanded on the knowledge we had just gained about the history of time. I have spent years studying the history of machines, but watchmaking possesses its own allure. It takes a single device to synchronize our body clock with solar and lunar activities, blending harmoniously with the natural world. The obsession with combining gear movement, jewel cutting, and automaton to achieve exquisite beauty is what elevates mechanical watches beyond mere timekeeping; they are truly works of art.

This book becomes one of my favorite. 12/10. I definitely will read this book again.

[Kalyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a few books that have the power to make you feel truly happy. And this book is definitely one of them. From the moment I started listening to it on Audible, it brought me immense joy. It entertained and enlightened me with fascinating insights into the history of watchmaking, including significant figures like Louise Breguet, John Harrison and Thomas Mudge.

However, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness that the book was relatively short. Its captivating content left me yearning for more, and I'm seriously contemplating listening to it again. In fact, I was considering canceling my Audible subscription, but fortunately, I had a remaining credit which I wisely used to prebook this gem. It turned out to be an incredibly worthwhile investment.

If you're someone who appreciates learning about the art of craftsmanship and the wonders of engineering, especially through shows on the History Channel, then this book is a must-read for you.

Disclaimer: Despite my youthful appearance, I often find myself embodying the spirit of a boring eighty-year-old man.