About Time: a new way for kids to discover watchmaking

Russell Sheldrake

Trying to talk to kids about watchmaking and make it engaging for them is a hard task. Why would a kid be interested in learning about the function of a pallet fork or the history of the Submariner when there are episodes of Bluey or endless YouTube videos to watch? And while it may seem like a trivial issue to most of us, there is a worrying trend as kids growing up today are not only uninterested in watches, but also unable to read an analogue display. This has a knock-on effect for those who work inside the industry, and a lack of interest in mechanical watches means a lack of talent down the line entering the workforce.

However, Rebecca Struthers, independent watchmaker and holder of a PhD in horology, has set out to address this very issue by creating one of the most comprehensive and engaging children’s books on watchmaking ever written. Struthers has partnered up with a physics teacher, Alom Shaha, who has written a string of other children’s books along with GCSE and A-Level revision guides while partnering with some of the most prestigious institutions in the country, such as The Royal Institution, The Institute of Physics and the BBC.

The book, titled About Time: A children’s guide to the history and science of time, is aimed at ages 7-9, covering the story of telling the time throughout history, from sundials to atomic clocks. This book gets through a lot, and every step of the way, you are accompanied by the wonderful illustrations of Lucy Rose, who brings these (at times dry) topics to life.

Every step in this book has been written out and illustrated in a way that will help kids to learn, digest, and get excited about watches and watchmaking. It’s not about turning them into overnight experts, but exposing them to this incredibly rich world at a young age so they don’t grow up having no idea about everything it has to offer.

We have always been supporters of getting kids into watchmaking, whether it is stocking Sher watches that will help them learn to read the time, or simply recognising the creative abundance of watches aimed at our younger generations. Could this book lead your child into an incredibly expensive hobby in later life when they realise that they will always need just one more watch to complete their collection? Possibly, but Rebecca, Alom and I cannot be held liable for that.

If you think this book would make some excellent bedtime reading, you can pick one up right now from the Time+Tide Shop. Price: £14.99/US$21.97/A$32.99