Most people take the accuracy of their clocks and watches and of the time service for granted. Yet it has taken over six thousand years to reach todays standards. The city of Coventry not surprisingly has left its trace in the history of watchmaking and the aim of this project is to introduce the story of ‘Moments in time’ to more people and attract more visitors to the watch museum of Coventry.

 

Having the history of Coventry, that has for the past few centuries been home to several industries of national signi cance, it will not be surprising to anyone that the city was once one of the biggest producers of watches in the UK.

Watchmaking was rst recorded in the city in the 1680s, but it was not until the 18th century that Coventry emerged as one of the main centres of the watchmaking industry in England. By the rst half of the 19th century Coventry had even reached a position of national dominance. (Coventry Watch Museum Project 2009-2016)

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Unfortunately Second World War happened, as well as cheaper factory methods in the US and Switzerland appeared on the watch making horizon, which contributed for the Coventry industry to slowly disappear from the map. All was not lost though, as the watchmaking industry helped developed a skill base that was to contribute to Coventry's rise as a centre of the motor car, motor cycle, aircraft and precision engineering.

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In the short term, The Watch Museum Project tries to preserve artefacts and buildings and to carry
out historical research. The group's long term aim is to see a working museum established where watches and tools would be displayed together with photographs of people, buildings and maps of the areas in which the work took place. (Coventry Watch Museum Project 2009-2016) 

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The aim of the project is to attract more people, starting from the locals and the children. Teach them more about the history of Coventry, show them that there is more to the city, that is still not discovered. The project’s purpose is to promote the Watch Museum Project and establish it as one of the main tourist attractions of the city, together with Coventry Cathedral and the Transport Museum. 

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The idea is to create an experience that will bring the visitors back in time, will entertain young and old and will get everyone involved with the exhibition. The concept is Storytelling.

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An important part of the project is its brand identity. The title of the Project is Time Tales and the slogan ‘A Story of... Moments in time’. The title was inspired by all the stories and tales that the friendly staff of the watch museum shared. The concept is about storytelling. The story about the Coventry watches, little devices that help detecting time-Time Tales or Stories about time.

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The slogan contains the original line, used by the watch museum “Moments in time”. When asked why ‘Moments in time’, the volunteers answered: ‘The museum is sharing different moments from Coventry’s history, not just one. We like the fact that it is not fully revealing.’

The Logo represents the city of Coventry, with all its history. A skyline of iconic Coventry buildings in the shape of a clock. The hand of the clock is the crack left on one of the buildings of the watch museum after the blitz. And a dove, the symbol of peace. 

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THIS IS GROUP PROJECT