The Rise and Decline of England's Watchmaking Industry, 1550-1930 (Hardcover)

This survey of the rise and decline of English watchmaking fills a gap in the historiography of British industry. Clerkenwell in London was supplied with 'rough movements' from Prescot, 200 miles away in Lancashire. Smaller watchmaking hubs later emerged in Coventry, Liverpool, and Birmingham. The English industry led European watchmaking in the late eighteenth century in output, and its lucrative export markets extended to the Ottoman Empire and China. It also made marine chronometers, the most complex of hand-crafted pre-industrial mechanisms, crucially important to the later hegemony of Britain's navy and merchant marine. Although Britain was the 'workshop of the world', its watchmaking industry declined. Why? First, because cheap Swiss watches were smuggled into British markets. Later, in the era of Free Trade, they were joined by machine-made watches from factories in America, enabled by the successful application to watch production of the 'American system' in Waltham, Massachusetts after 1858. The Swiss watch industry adapted itself appropriately, expanded, and reasserted its lead in the world's markets. English watchmaking did not: its trajectory foreshadowed and was later followed by other once-prominent British industries. Clerkenwell retained its pre-industrial production methods. Other modernization attempts in Britain had limited success or failed.

General

Imprint:	Taylor & Francis
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Routledge Studies in Modern British History
Release date:	April 2022
Authors:	Alun C. Davies
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 31mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	394
ISBN-13:	978-1-03-213134-4
Categories:	Books > Science & Mathematics > Science: general issues > History of science Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1500 to 1750 Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > British & Irish history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > General Books > History > British & Irish history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history Books > History > World history > 1500 to 1750 Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > History > World history > From 1900 > General
LSN:	1-03-213134-9
Barcode:	9781032131344

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