Hands of Time by Rebecca Struthers (Omnibus)

Watchmaker and doctor of horology Rebecca Struthers explores the ancient human urge to mark the passage of time and the devices that were invented to do so.

"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.

Written by Rebecca Struthers.

Omnibus of five episodes abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed.

Read by Phoebe Pryce.

Producer: Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2023.