The Lancashire Watch Company of Prescot was founded in 1889 by Thomas P. Hewitt as a rival to the large American and Swiss watch companies. It failed in 1910.
The Lancashire Watch Company of Prescot was founded in 1889 by Thomas P. Hewitt as a rival to the large American and Swiss watch companies. It failed in 1910.
Until the late 19th century, Prescot had been the centre of the watchmaking trade in England. The workers produced watch parts in small workshops attached to their cottages and were paid by piece work. By 1889 the American System of Watch Manufacturing meant that the Waltham Watch Company and others could produce watches at a much lower price and the town fell into decline.
In 1889 a company was formed and eventually a large factory was built to create complete watches under one roof. [1] The products produced had more in common with earlier American designs than traditional English fusee watches. Because of economies of scale the Lancashire Watch Company struggled to compete with the larger American and Swiss factories. It could not make a profit and went bankrupt in 1910. Thomas P Hewitt's watch was sold at Christies Auction in 1995 fetching $215,000, purchased by Robbie Dickson; a well-known historical watch collector.[ citation needed ]
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or other type of bracelet, including metal bands, leather straps, or any other kind of bracelet. A pocket watch is designed for a person to carry in a pocket, often attached to a chain.
Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, United Kingdom. It lies about eight miles (13 km) to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184. The population of the larger Prescot East and West wards at the 2011 census totalled 14,139. Prescot marks the beginning of the A58 road which runs through to Wetherby, near Leeds in West Yorkshire. The town is served by Prescot railway station and Eccleston Park railway station in neighbouring Eccleston.
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their parts, by hand. Modern watchmakers, when required to repair older watches, for which replacement parts may not be available, must have fabrication skills, and can typically manufacture replacements for many of the parts found in a watch. The term clockmaker refers to an equivalent occupation specializing in clocks.
Timex Group USA, Inc. is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into Timex Corporation. In 2008, the company was acquired by Timex Group B.V. and was renamed Timex Group USA.
The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., was a company that produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time delay fuses, and other precision instruments in the United States of America between 1850 and 1957. The company's historic 19th-century manufacturing facilities in Waltham, Massachusetts have been preserved as the American Waltham Watch Company Historic District.
Aaron Lufkin Dennison was an American watchmaker and businessman who founded a number of companies.
The American system of watch manufacturing is a set of manufacturing techniques and best-practices to be used in the manufacture of watches and timepieces. It is derived from the American system of manufacturing techniques, a set of general techniques and guidelines for manufacturing that was developed in the 19th century. The system calls for using interchangeable parts, which is made possible by a strict system of organization, the extensive use of the machine shop, and quality control systems utilizing gauges to ensure precise and uniform dimensions. It was developed by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, a watch repairman who was inspired by the manufacturing techniques of the United States Armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, which manufactured identical parts, allowing rapid assembly of the final products. He proposed using similar techniques for the manufacture of watches. Before the American system of watch manufacturing was developed, watchmaking was primarily a European business. It involved making certain parts under the roof of a factory while obtaining other parts from piece workers who used their own cottages as workshops.
The Elgin National Watch Company, commonly known as Elgin Watch Company, was a major US watch maker from 1864 to 1968. The company sold watches under the names Elgin, Lord Elgin, and Lady Elgin.
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Oris SA is a Swiss luxury manufacturer of mechanical watches. The company was founded in 1904 and is based in Hölstein in the canton of Basel-Landschaft.
The Hamilton Watch Company is a Swiss manufacturer of wristwatches based in Bienne, Switzerland. Founded in 1892 as an American firm, the Hamilton Watch Company ended American manufacture in 1969. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the Hamilton Watch Company eventually became integrated into the Swatch Group, the world's largest watch manufacturing and marketing conglomerate.
Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines, is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group and its predecessors since 1983. Its winged hourglass logo, registered in 1889, is the oldest unchanged active trademark registered with WIPO.
The history of watches began in 16th-century Europe, where watches evolved from portable spring-driven clocks, which first appeared in the 15th century.
SS Republic was an ocean liner built in 1871 by Harland and Wolff for White Star Line. It was intended to be the last of four vessels forming the Oceanic-class, before two new ships were commissioned. After a rough maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York City on 1 February 1872, the ship was chosen to be on White Star Line's first voyage on the South Atlantic and Pacific line with four other ships, destined for Chile. In 1874, the construction of modern ships SS Germanic and SS Britannic led to SS Republic's becoming the standby vessel of White Star Line. It occupied this position for 15 years, and attempts were made to modernise it in 1888. When RMS Teutonic and RMS Majestic entered service in the following year, the Republic became surplus to White Star's needs.
The Ingersoll Watch Company is currently owned by Zeon Watches, a British subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based company Herald Group. The brand originated in the United States of America in 1882 but is in Austria now.
Henry Pitkin was a silversmith and watchmaker of Hartford, Connecticut.
Waterside Mill, Ashton-under-Lyne was a combined cotton spinning weaving mill in Whitelands, Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. It was built as two independent factories. The weaving sheds date from 1857; the four-storey spinning mill dates from 1863. The spinning was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s. Production finished in 1959. Waterside Mill was converted to electricity around 1911.
Laco Uhrenmanufaktur GmbH is a German watch manufacturer, founded in 1925 in Pforzheim by Frieda Lacher and Ludwig Hummel under the name Lacher & Co.
Flat Iron Building, also known as 72 Ecclestone Street, is a historic building in Prescot, Merseyside. It was built in 1890 to service Prescot's extensive watchmaking industry.