YEN FOR PRECISION

While we typically think of watchmaking as a Swiss matter, this ignores the powerful contributions of Japanese industry and know-how. We begin this deep dive with a look at the biggest names in the game

- BEN KWOK AND ASHOK SOMAN

If you are reading this story online, it might come with a note that gives you an estimated amount of time to read it, from start to finish. Fair warning here: this is a long story but it is merely a summary of a tale many centuries long. That said, time is relative so there is no objectively long or short of it for all observers, independent of a shared frame of reference. Imagine if you had to consider what time of year it was and the attendant season, before you could know how long an estimate was... And do not even get started on minutes and seconds - getting those right beyond an approximate were beyond the abilities of watchmakers until the industrial revolution. Besides, while we tend to think of time in discrete and standardised segments, not all cultures agreed about this. In fact, it is very much a phenomenon associated with the aforementioned industrial revolution, and whenever that happened to a specific society.

It is for this reason, amongst many others admittedly, that art is more reliable in informing us about the particularities of cultures, societies and nations. Art in general-whatever the form has been and remains the key pillar of cultures throughout history. Horology and art share numerous similarities, and on closer examination, it is no surprise why. At its heart, art is the expression and reflection of something that is considered a unifying and universal standard; it is often the cultural embodiment of the society from which it comes; the beauty within often comes through in the diversity of its expression.