This book follows the emergence and transformation of the watch industry throughout the world from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day. In so doing, it sheds new light on the way the global economy became established.

The business of time explores the evolution of the global watch industry from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, offering a comprehensive history of the sector.

Global watch production today is concentrated in three countries: Switzerland for luxury products, Japan for mid-range products and China for mass-produced, inexpensive watches. The industry is dominated by a dozen or so large companies, most of which are organised on a global scale, such as the Swatch Group, Richemont, LVMH, Seiko and Fossil. But a hundred years ago the picture was quite different. Throughout the twentieth century, countries such as Great Britain, France, the United States and Russia saw the industrial manufacture of watches disappear from their territory. At the same time, Hong Kong went from being a subcontractor of watch components to an intermediary between Chinese factories and the world market.

Highlighting the conditions that enabled watch production to spread around the world, The business of time explains how multinationals gradually emerged to dominate the industry and highlights how Swiss companies were able to establish themselves as the undisputed world leader in luxury watches.