十六世纪初,当中国的市场被欧洲列强打开以后,钟表可以说是最早的舶来品之一。至十八世纪,英国工业迅速崛起,促进了钟表制造业的发展,英商为了获得更大的利润,便把制钟设备和钟表匠直接运到中国,在广州设厂,制造和直销钟表。这一时期的英国钟表主要特点是:以大自然及田园风光为背景,以欧洲建筑风格的亭台楼阁为主要造型,其间辅以可活动的人 At the beginning of the sixteenth century, when China’s market was opened by the European powers, clocks and watches could be said to be one of the earliest imported goods. By the eighteenth century, the rapid rise of British industry accelerated the development of the watch and clock manufacturing industry. In order to gain greater profits, the British merchant shipped clockwork and watchmakers directly to China to set up factories in Guangzhou to manufacture and sell clocks and watches. The main features of the British clocks and watches of this period are: the background of nature and rural scenery, the European style of pavilions as the main style, with the active person