Apart from a sundial, an hourglass is perhaps the most basic historical example of a 'Time Machine', where the earliest use of one dates from the 14th Century.
The hourglass had a ubiquitous use throughout history, in the earliest factories for clocking on and off, to metal tradesmen as an aid to knowing when enough heat had been applied to certain metals. Hourglasses were also used on ships to determine traveling speed as well as a time measuring device when a bell was struck for each period.
These days hourglasses have largely been superseded by electronic gadgets, but to a collector or fine art connoisseur, hourglasses retain an affinity with the classics.
Philip Andelman traveled to Basel, Switzerland, to video document the creation of Australian designer Marc Newson's interpretation of this iconic time machine inside the Glaskeller factory.
Read more »
nevertheless