TIME TAMED

The passage of time is a concept that has captivated the attention of Mankind since the Stone Age. Throughout history, our attempts to measure and define the time of day has constantly and repeatedly collided with the powerful influences of art and culture, in the process creating a magnificent spread of inventive timekeeping formats from the sundial to the modern wristwatch. What’s equally fascinating is how culture and styles of timekeeping across vast continents and empires, many of which would never have even known of each other, wound up (pun intended) developing timekeeping simultaneously, with a similar use of techniques. In Time Tamed, the latest in a long line of excellent volumes by the illustrious Nick Foulkes, whose pen has on occasion graced the pages of Revolution, he examines how timekeeping has not only found itself intertwined with historical monuments and cultural landmarks, but also how it’s shaped the modern world and continues to do so. For any watch-loving geek, this is a book that should definitely be on your reading list. The following is a chapter reproduced with permission from Time Tamed, that speaks about one of the greatest timepieces in historical watchmaking: Breguet’s pocket watch No. 160, commissioned for Marie Antoinette.

Parking his small Simca 1000 hatchback, the hollow-cheeked, sharp-featured man