The decision to set up our own business was made because I was struggling at work with anxiety caused by the experiences I have had over the years. It’s becoming less common now, but it’s still a problem. I experienced a lot of discrimination and face it sometimes even today. What is it like being a woman in the watch industry?īeing female and young was a big challenge when I first started out. Watchmaking businesses are very expensive to run too, which is why it is hard if you don’t have access to a lot of investment. We no longer have any jewelers, spring makers, etc. In the UK, one of the hardest things is that we no longer have a network of allied manufacturers to work with. Is it difficult to be an independent watchmaker? We stayed friends after graduating and ended up becoming a couple a few years later. How did you meet your husband Craig Struthers?Ĭraig was one of the watchmaking students who spotted my work! He was in his second year when I started the horology course. Rebecca and Craig Struthers Photo: Andy Pilsbury They are measuring devices that can be used to reflect a message about who we are, our personal style, education, and wealth.
Watches excite me as they are both symbols of something vast – the movement of the Sun, Moon, and Earth – and also something incredibly small and personal that we can wear on our body. I put in an application and was very lucky to be successful. There was a funding opportunity with the Arts and Humanities Research Council. I was the first person in my direct family to go to university, so the idea of completing a doctorate hadn’t crossed my mind. One of my tutors asked if I’d thought about doing a PhD. My thesis explored the beginning of the downfall of the British watch industry and the rise of the Swiss industry in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I was completing a master's degree in the history of art and design. What made you go for a PhD in watchmaking? After I started my studies, I discovered that I have ancestors who were employed in trades like jewelry, silversmithing, and glass blowing, so I think I must be a genetic throwback! None of my direct family are watchmakers. Inspired by traditional English horology and goldsmithing, the duo’s first in-house movement, Project 248, revived the English lever escapement-one that the British industry halted in the late nineteenth century.Īll set to release her book next year, Struthers spoke to us about her struggles as a woman within the watchmaking industry, her favourite watches and her love for animals.ĭo you come from a family of watchmakers? Over the last decade, Rebecca and her equally talented husband Craig, have won several awards and accolades for their exceptionally well-made customised timepieces - each taking up to three years of research and execution. in horology - the first ever doctorate in the history of British watchmaking. Needless to say, I fell in love with the subject instantly.” Some of the watchmaking students spotted my work and suggested I might find it interesting. “I wasn’t aware you could have a career as a watchmaker, but it just so happened that the college I was studying at also taught horology. While training as a jeweler and silversmith, Struthers discovered she had an interest in making jewelry pieces that could move, some with incredibly basic automata. The first person in her direct family to go to university, Struthers has always been fascinated with the arts and sciences - figuring out how things work since childhood.
She brings old watches to life with the help of antique tools from the early 20th century and finds inspiration in the works of legendary British watchmakers like Charles Frodsham and Victor Kulberg. Rebecca Struthers likes to call herself a “Time Doctor”. We talk to her about the challenges of being a woman in the watchmaking industry, the art of restoration and her upcoming book – Hands of TimeĪ trained vintage watch restorer, Dr. in Horology, Struthers discovered watchmaking by chance in her teens and hasn’t looked back since. The first-ever person in British history to have earned a Ph.D.
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