Where do we start when we talk about “craft” in the modern world? While the word is sometimes used interchangeably with “artisanal” to distinguish products from the mass-produced, prosaic items that flood our daily lives, true craft positions itself as a form of meaningful creation, a process that takes care and thought – and, perhaps most crucially, skill.

To practise a craft today is to participate in a small but growing sector, partaking in what was once the only way to do things, carrying forward traditions while re-examining their place in an increasingly technology-focused society. The desire to possess something designed and created by human hands has not diminished, but has instead grown with time, proving that what we truly prize above all is the spark of creativity and ingenuity that can only be found in the human mind.

Craft in watchmaking has evolved through the years, integrating modern advancements while also encompassing a range of traditional skills. Today, the term can be applied to a small, resurgent sector of British watchmaking which not only includes watchmakers themselves, but also other craftsmen such as the engravers, dial makers, and case makers involved in making and decorating the watches. In addition to more traditional forms of watchmaking, a modern definition of British craft also can expand to other brands and watchmakers who contribute to the craft through innovative design or assembly of parts on British shores.

Much has previously been discussed about Britain’s role in the advancement of timekeeping, and we have already covered the watchmakers that operated in and around London in a separate article.

As noted in our earlier piece, the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was to thank for professionalising the craft in England, regulating all the trades involved with clock and watchmaking. Toward the end of the 18th century, a real problem emerged with fake watches that bore the names of English watch and clockmakers, and there was also the rise of industrialised Swiss watches, which was difficult to compete against in terms of price.

While the watchmaking guilds in England stood firm and remained uncompromising on quality and craftsmanship, this would eventually lead to the industry’s decline. Rather than taking this as a sad moment in history, it could be seen to serve another purpose – to highlight the way in which craftsmanship has always been a core tenet of British clock and watchmaking. This does not refer to a British style or type of craft, but rather indicates the emphasis on well-made, beautifully put-together things.

Peter Speake, an independent British watchmaker based in Switzerland and the founder of PS Horology, notes that it was also a time of great creativity within this craft: “When you look at early horology, what you realise is that there is never a single solution to a problem, and it’s incredibly creative — not only on a design or art basis, but also on a technical basis, how different companies came up with different solutions to the same problem. Some were simple, some were complicated, some were effective, and some were less effective.”

In subsequent years, British watchmaking would not be the same. This would only change nearly a century later, in 1980, when Dr George Daniels began his mission to revive the craft.