Brass Revolving Sand Timer — Handmade Hourglass

An hourglass in a brass frame that pivots — flip the whole assembly rather than lifting and inverting the glass.

Details

• Handmade brass frame with pivoting mount
• Glass bulbs with fine sand
• Hand-applied finish
• Suits a desk, study, library, kitchen or console

The instrument at sea

The hourglass was the ship's clock for centuries, because a pendulum is useless on a moving deck. A half-hour glass was turned by the watch and rung on the ship's bell, which is where the eight-bell watch system comes from — eight turns of the glass, four hours, then the watch changed.

A smaller glass measured the speed log: a knotted line was paid out over the stern while the sand ran, and the knots counted gave the ship's speed. That is where the word knot comes from as a unit.

A sailor caught warming the glass to make the sand run faster — and shorten his watch — could expect serious punishment.