Movement record · England
Lancashire Watch Company lever movement
Needs researchMachine-made English movements produced at Prescot in an attempt to answer American and Swiss factory competition with interchangeable parts rather than outworker handwork.
Technical specifications
- Diameter
- Several sizes made; individual dimensions not recorded in a source consulted here
- Height
- Not recorded in a source consulted here
- Jewels
- Ranges from unjewelled trade grades to fully jewelled examples
- Frequency
- Not recorded in a source consulted here
- Power reserve
- Approximately one day between windings
- Winding
- Key wind and keyless examples both recorded
- Setting
- Key set or keyless depending on grade
- Escapement
- English lever, with Swiss-pattern work on some later grades
- Balance
- Jewelled on better grades; plain on trade work
- Complications
- Sub-seconds
Identification features
- Movements frequently signed by the retailer rather than the factory
- Prescot origin is often inferred from plate layout rather than a factory signature
Known variants
- Multiple grades and finishes
- Retailer-signed versions
Servicing notes
Parts are scarce and not reliably interchangeable between grades; broken components usually have to be made rather than replaced.
General guidance only. Antique movements should be serviced by a qualified watchmaker.
Historical significance
The most determined English attempt at American-style mass production, and a record of why the English trade nonetheless lost the volume market.
Photographs
Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.
Sources & references
- Histories of the Prescot watch trade
- Company production figures and grade lists are incompletely documented in the sources consulted here.
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.