Rebecca Struthers on Watches, Watchmaking, and the Hands of Time

Mon Jun 12 2023

Econ Talk with Russ Roberts and Rebecca Struthers

Rebecca Struthers is a watchmaker and the guest on the podcast.
The podcast discusses her book, "Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History."
Rebecca makes, repairs, and restores watches with her husband.
She separates her work into clean and dirty tasks to avoid contamination.
Rebecca started in jewelry making but switched to watchmaking for a creative outlet.
She studied Julian Silversmithing to learn basic hand skills.

Drills are extensively used in watchmaking for creating holes and tapping screws.
High precision pillar drills are used, which are miniature versions of larger engineering laboratory drills.
Restoring watches is a rare skill, and there is a shortage of top-level restorers globally.
Complications in horology add to the difficulty in restoring watches.
There is a tendency among restorers to recommend work to each other due to the shortage of good high-end restorers.
Watchmakers support each other and are not competitors.
Traditional watch case making using bar and sheet metal is becoming rare.
The oldest watch Rebecca has worked on dates back to 1530.

Rebecca spent years studying Julian Silversmithing and learning basic hand skills.
The first year of the watchmaking course was spent making tools before working on precision watch movements.
An orary is a reproduction of the solar system that can be put on display as jewelry.
Setting up a business in watchmaking can be difficult without significant backing.

The British Museum has two gallery spaces for clocks and watches.
There are around four and a half thousand watches in the horological study room in the basement that can be viewed with curators for free.
Rebecca conducted research on Dutch forgeries of watches for her PhD.
The emergence of non-standardized mass manufacture of watches through the production of forgeries was uncovered.
London was home to famous watchmakers, and everyone wanted a London watch.
Manufacturers on the Swiss-French border used a different manufacturing technique called Tabla Sarge.
Division of labor and specialization in watchmaking led to increased productivity and lower costs.

The UK watch industry declined by the end of the 19th century due to complete transformation in production.
The Swiss watch industry combined mass manufacturing with luxury marketing to create a successful product.
They backed the future of wristwatches over pocket watches.
Emerging markets are now producing high-quality watches that even experts struggle to differentiate from originals.

Art is worth paying for, even if it doesn't make us more efficient.
The beauty of an object appeals to people.
Accuracy is not a priority for everyone in watchmaking.
Some clients demand high accuracy standards in watches.
Quartz and atomic timekeeping are the most accurate timekeepers available.
The Marie Antoinette watch made by Abraham Louis Breggae is an extraordinary work of engineering with 23 complications and self-winding capabilities.
The Brigitte watch had power reserve indication, a chronograph, a thermometer, and a perpetual calendar.
The completed Marie Antoinette watch was stolen but later found in a private collection.

Watches hold significant meaning beyond their practical use.
A favorite restoration for Rebecca was a Mavardo watch with an incredible story behind it.
The owner's father survived a plane crash during WWII, and the watch was found folded up in his flight jacket when he arrived at the hospital.
The restoration process focused on preserving its history.

Rebecca Struthers sells hand-made watches on her website.
Making things in a traditional way is therapeutic and beautiful for her.
Creating watches allows her to measure parts of her life with the projects she's been working on.
Working this way is a real pleasure in today's fast-paced modern world.