What makes the book «Time Machines: How Clocks Shaped the Modern World» an essential read for any watch enthusiast is the vast collection of photographs that includes, along with important historical context, the 100 most influential clocks since 1900.
It's a book that watch enthusiasts and collectors will return to again and again for its fascinating narrative - from the impact of the Cartier Santos-Dumont on aviation to the role of the Rolex Submariner in the creation of diving culture.
Time Machines editors , Blake Z. Rong and Sean Paul Lorentzen, also included advertisements and other items to show how these watches fit into culture, fashion and identity. Learn who wore what watch when they walked on the moon or climbed Mount Everest.
«This book is a history of the watch, both from its functional and decorative origins, and we approach it from a perspective that explains the appeal of some of today's most popular watches,» says Rong. «The Rolex Submariner and GMT-Master , Omega Seamaster and Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso are not just wildly collected today, but all are rooted in function versus form in many unexpected ways.».
Gestalten, the German publisher of Time Machines , released the book in the United Kingdom and the European Union on September 25. It will be available to customers in the US on 11 November. The 320-page hardcover book has more than 300 color photos and is priced at $90.
Rong, a Brooklyn-based journalist whose previous work for Gestalten includes “Beautiful Machines: the Era of the Elegant Sports Car” and “The Italians-Beautiful Machines” , sees Time Machines as a passion project, but also as a reference point that could serve as a celebration of the global heritage of watchmaking. Researching the book was a huge undertaking, says Rong, but he and Lorenzen agreed it was worth their time.
«Sean and I put together this project because we wanted to acknowledge how the seemingly humble wristwatch has played such a pivotal role-and in many cases, a life-saving role-in every endeavor throughout the 20th and 21st centuries,» says Rong.
«It encompasses everything from aviation to trench warfare, from manned spaceflight and landing to haute couture and the pushing of technological boundaries - such as the advent of quartz and the revival of mechanical watches.».
There are thousands of clocks that could be in the book - the fun, according to Rong, was deciding which ones were the most necessary. Time Machines starts with the Hamilton pocket watch, moves on to the Cartier Tank and Rolex Oyster, declares war on the Breitling Navitimer , paves the way for luxury goods with the Patek Philippe Nautilus and Piaget Polo , and adds a bit of whimsy with the Swatch and micro-marks like the C1 Bel Canto.
«We narrowed our list of watches to those that accompanied these major historical impacts: the watches worn by Jacques Cousteau and other pioneering divers to bring the depths of the ocean to a global audience, the watches that turned Formula 1 and its drivers into a global phenomenon, and the chronographs chosen by NASA and individual space explorers,» explains Rong.
«In so many cases, we found that innovation in watchmaking from various brands around the world played a key role in high-pressure situations and therefore needed to be improved in order to broaden the scope of accuracy,» he adds. «Seiko, for example, achieved staggering results against the Swiss establishment in the 1960s by promoting innovation across the entire sector.».
Source: jckonline.com
