In 1866, The Clerkenwell News published a series of exchanges between two individuals discussing the merit of women and girls working in watch factories. But rather than it being a one-sided tirade, we instead see a real-life response from an individual who signed themselves as “Female Watchmaker”.

Arguing in favour of women becoming apprentice watchmakers, our anonymous “Female Watchmaker” speaks with great authority on the subject, affirming that “I know instances where [women] have learned the lever escapement making and the finishing, examining etc, all of which branches are very suitable for them. They could also be profitably employed at the repairing of watches, at this they would be able to earn a good living anywhere: it would not confine them to a watch manufacturing district such as Clerkenwell and in this respect would possess a decided advantage over a branch of the trade.”

This exchange is forthcoming as part of a project entitled Women and Horology, put together by Su Fullwood and Geoff Allnutt in conjunction with the Antiquarian Horology Society, but even from this small excerpt we can see that women’s involvement in watchmaking has a long and significant history that has since been obscured. Keeping in mind the constraints of the time, it is remarkable that these women were able to carve out a space for themselves – but if we look within the watchmaking industry today, we see that women largely remain in the same roles, rarely afforded the same attention that their male counterparts are given at the highest levels.

Representation and opportunity are perhaps the biggest reasons for there being so few watchmakers in the modern scene. This is perhaps compounded by the fact that as a profession, watchmaking is still fairly traditional and is undoubtedly a male-dominated space – especially when it comes to the names that are fast gaining recognition through auctions and on social media. Independent watchmakers such as Eva Leube, Rebecca Struthers, and Fiona Krüger are going down a more individualistic route, with others like Annegret Fleischer, Carole Forestier-Kasapi, and Janina Thiele spearheading developments in complications and movements. Meanwhile, on the horizon we also have Danièla Dufour and Venla Voutilainen, who are fast moving upwards in the horological industry. Charting a course from past to present, we explore the question of where women in watchmaking stand now.