Instead, Rainer Jakob (65), chose the unusual — sundial making.
The Namibian national, who moved to Larrendale six years ago, has made 28 sundials over the past five years.
“I was looking for something to keep me occupied,” said Jakob, who has a doctorate in geochemistry.
“I decided to choose something I didn’t know much about.”
A sundial is a device used to tell the time of the day by the position of the sun.
They have been used for thousands of years and there are many different designs — some use a shadow, while others use a line or spot of light to indicate the time.
With the exception of some engraving on a few of the sundials, all of Jacob’s sundials are completely his own creations.
He constructs them mostly from brass, stainless steel and wood.
His collection comprises many different types of dials, including horizontal, vertical and ring dials — with which most people will be familiar — but there are also many interesting kinds, such as bifilar and pillar dials.
A bifilar dial has two shadow casting objects (gnomons), while a pillar dial is cylindrical and portable.
Jakobs explained that pillar dials are also known as shepherd’s dials.
“The shepherds in Europe have used them for many years to tell the time,” he said.
“The dial was attached to the top of their walking sticks.”
Jakobs believes he may have the biggest private collection of sundials in the world.
“I inquired this with Guinness World Records, but they don’t have such a category,” he said.
This hasn’t perturbed Jakob’s in the least and he currently has three more sundials in the pipeline.
How do sundials work?
The sun casts a shadow on a gnomon (usually made from wire) on a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day.
This shadow then reveals the time of the day.
As the sun shines differently around the world, a sundial must be made specifically for the region in which it is located.
Interesting fact: a sundial maker is called a dialist or gnomonist.
