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 travelling 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These days hourglasses have largely been superseded by electronic gadgets, but to a collector or fine art connoisseur, hourglasses retain an affinity with the classics.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.
This slick entertaining monochrome video was melded with the exquisite sound work of 'Opening' by Philip Glass, from his Glassworks album.
And for the prospective interests, "Each hand made hourglass comprises highly durable borosilicate glass and millions of stainless steel nanoballs, and is available in a 10 or 60 minute timer." For more details visit ikepod.
