The Business of Time - (Studies in Design and Material Culture) by Pierre-Yves Donzé (Paperback)

About the Book

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. It sheds new light on the way the global economy became established.

Book Synopsis

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. It sheds new light on the way the global economy became established.

From the Back Cover

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.

Watch production today is concentrated in three countries: Switzerland for luxury products, Japan for mid-range and China for mass-produced. The industry is dominated by a dozen large companies, most of them organised on a global scale. But a hundred years ago the picture was quite different. Throughout the twentieth century, countries such as Great Britain, France and the United States saw the industrial manufacture of watches disappear from their territory, while Hong Kong went from being a subcontractor to an intermediary between China and the world market.

Highlighting the conditions that enabled watch production to spread around the globe, The business of time explains how multinationals came to dominate the industry and how Swiss companies established themselves as the undisputed leader in luxury watches.

Review Quotes

'An excellent concise history of the global watch industry... The book is full of interesting stories about technological innovation and progress and how they are communicated globally.'
Jan-Otmar Hesse, Business History

'Offers a unique insight into how the industry evolved, looking at the transition of dominance between countries.'
The Naked Watchmaker

'A beautifully constructed, tightly focused, single-industry case study that has important implications for various questions in business history.'
WatchCrunch

About the Author

Pierre-Yves Donzé is Professor of Business History at Osaka University