The origin of the watch industry in Coventry is very obscure due to the lack of documentary evidence. One can only conjecture as to why Coventry became the third watchmaking centre after London and Liverpool. In its heyday the industry enjoyed great prosperity but there were also recessions which resulted in periods of deep poverty.
Nothing is unique about that in an industrial society.
What happened to the Coventry watch industry has since happened to other Coventry industries with a similar impact on their workers. What one can be sure of is that there were a few clockmakers working in Coventry prior to the 1750's. It is known that Coventry, due in part to its geographical location, had for a long time been sited at a cross-roads where goods were manufactured, exchanged and dispatched to all parts of the country. This made it a suitable place to start an industry which was no doubt stimulated by the technical advances made over a period of time in the clockmaking and watchmaking fields. Demand has always created the momentum for an industry to expand.