Skip to content
The Encyclopedia of Horology

Liverpool; Coventry; Prescot; London, England

English Provincial Trade (collective)

Verified

Fusee watches, movement parts and rough movement supply

History

Prescot and Liverpool supplied movement parts and rough movements to finishers throughout Britain, while Coventry became a late centre of English factory-style production. Dial signatures generally record the retailer rather than the maker.

Major innovations

  • Specialised part-making districts
  • Lancashire movement supply chain

Known markings

  • Retailer name and town
  • Assay office hallmarks
  • Casemaker's initials

Serial numbers

English case hallmarks usually date the case, not the movement; movement and case were often assembled years apart.

Collecting significance

Hallmark research is the fastest route to a reliable date range for an English watch.

Photographs

Movement of a Pocket Watch by E D Johnson
Movement of a Pocket Watch by E D Johnson — Sharoncom, CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons file page
Watch movement MET DP-12675-066
Watch movement MET DP-12675-066 — Creator:Charles Cabrier, CC0. Wikimedia Commons file page

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Priestley, P., Watch Case Makers of England
  2. Assay office hallmark tables

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.