Nov 2025
Re-imagining our brilliant
British sector - five years on.
Alistair Audsley: CEO

When Roger Smith OBE, Mike France and I co-founded the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers in November 2020, we knew there was a need for a trade organisation.

What we perhaps didn't fully anticipate was just how ready the sector was for this moment.
Today, five years on, I find myself reflecting not on what we've built as an organisation, but on what we've helped reveal: that British watch and clockmaking isn't a collection of isolated brands scattered across the country, but a genuine sector with scale, ambition, and a shared future.

We only have one tradition in British watchmaking, and that is innovation. That phrase has become something of a mantra for me over these first five years, and it captures what makes our sector distinct. We're not trying to replicate Switzerland. We're not attempting to recreate some imagined golden age. We're building something different – a modern British watchmaking sector that honours our heritage of innovation while looking firmly forward. It’s one that embraces international markets and supply chain with a practical but ambitious vision of a modern sector leaning into its proven creative power.
The milestones tell their own story. In 2021, we delivered the first-ever Bellwether report – giving us, for probably the first time in 200 years, an objective and current picture of the shape and scale of British watch and clockmaking. That same year, we gained recognition from the Department for Business and Trade, earning our place on their Economic Sector Panel. It was the moment we stopped being a handful of disparate businesses and became a recognised sector.

We've grown from a core group of five founding members to 114 trading companies as I write – comprising the vast majority of the British watch and clock sector, from our most storied brands to micro startups.

In 2024/25 we surveyed our members again for our Bellwether II. Great sequels are usually bigger and that is certainly the case for our sector - 65% bigger in the preceding three years to a combined retail value of £206m. That shows 18% CAGR - outperforming the rest of the global watch sector by a factor of four (at 4.8%).

Above all this demonstrates resilience. This growth has happened while battling strong headwinds in the macro economy.

In the first five years, membership has been free for all British watch and clock brands as we were fortunate to be supported by the few. As we enter our next phase we’re introducing a new Accredited Member status to encourage more brands to support their trade body as we look to expand our scope beyond promotion, to careers and education.

What’s become clear is that, aside from trade, talent will be the essential lifeblood of sustainable growth. Like much of Britain’s lost manufacturing sector, we have a long way to go to try and rebuild not just the investment but the knowledge base. What’s really exciting is how many of our growing brands have a stated aim to bring assembly back to Britain. It’s a way off from return of British movement manufacture but, in a sector which is already presenting a powerful creative proposition with all our brands designing in-house, the return of assembly is a significant step forward.
What is most talked about as we look back is British Watchmakers' Day in March 2024 which is probably regarded as our boldest statement yet.

Forty-four brands, special editions from across our sector – including Roger's first-ever public release outside his closed waiting list – and 1,300 collectors from all over the world. The energy that day was extraordinary. I have never seen anything like it. One exhibitor called it "Day One for British watchmaking," and perhaps that captured it perfectly.
But we're not just about events and reports. We're about practical support. We've developed a Careers Hub to help our employers to connect with talent. Education is a particular passion of Roger Smith’s. Aside from being our Chairman, he is a trustee of the George Daniels Educational Trust and is keenly involved in promoting horological education.

We're building strategic partnerships in new markets – like our collaborations with HSNY and our participation in the global roundtable of watch federations. We're creating content to a high standard that gives our members a platform they might not otherwise have. We're working with government on international trade opportunities and, like their GREAT Campaign, for which I’m a proud Ambassador, we’re editorialising a country brand for watch and clockmaking.
Project One Billion – proposed by Mike France is our ambitious goal of growing the sector to $1 billion in retail value by the end of the decade. It would have seemed an almost frivolous dream five years ago. But today, with Christopher Ward itself close to breaking £50million in turnover and brands all across the spectrum showing strong growth, it now feels attainable. Mike’s aim was not just to set a financial target; it was to help all our brand founders realise that they can grow their businesses beyond what might have started out as a hobby or side-hustle. When you look at the stellar growth of brands such as Mr Jones Watches, Studio Underd0g, Fears, Farer, Elliot Brown and others, you really do start to see the Project One Billion dream becoming a reality.
I passionately believe that Great Britain has a right to be back at the top table of watch and clock making nations. After all, the world sets its time by Greenwich, not Geneva, and there's a reason for that. Our contribution to horology – from the lever escapement to the marine chronometer to the co-axial escapement – speaks to centuries of British innovation.

Later, the narrative continues with brands such as Accurist, Sekonda and Rotary who kept the idea of British watch brands in the hearts and minds of the consumer during the otherwise gloomy 1970s and 80s, as the flame finally went out for Britain’s watch manufacturing base.
But what we're witnessing now isn't a revival of old glories, but the emergence of something new. This is about "stronger together" actually meaning something. It's about a sector that can speak with one voice when needed, while celebrating the extraordinary individuality of our members. It's about creating a pathway for the next generation of talent to enter this fascinating world.

None of this would have been possible without the commitment of our trade members, the dedication of our small team (and I have to namecheck Katya Audsley, who has worked tirelessly for our members), and the generous support of all our Club Members around the world who have believed in this vision.

It all means that I’m looking ahead to the next five years with considerable optimism.

The conversation has changed. Five years ago, many people thought British watchmaking had died out completely. Today, the global watch community recognises that something significant is happening here.

We've proven that British watch and clockmaking exists as a sector.
Now, in the next phase, we get to show the world what it can become.
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