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Watches were among the most complex material artefacts in the 18th Century world, and 18th Century watchmaking centres are celebrated as centres of precision engineering skill and innovation in industrial engineering. This presentation is concerned not with the recognised centres of Britain, Holland and Switzerland, but with the networks of Black watchmakers in the 18th Century Caribbean, and their innovative skill in precision engineering. To engage with these Black watchmakers on their own terms, the presentation brings together oral histories and material culture with archives, newspapers, and published works. By focusing on the practices and priorities of these precision engineers, the significance and reach of their work begins to be uncovered. Related documentary evidence in the trial transcript of an 18th Century Old Bailey record has the potential to turn popular understanding of the British industrial revolution on its head. This presentation aims to show how little that outdated narrative matters, because the purposes of the Black precision engineers mean so much more.