The collection of watches in the Ashmolean came to the Museum largely as a result of three major bequests, including the Bentinck Hawkins collection in 1894, the bequest of J Francis Mallet in 1947 and the collection of Eric Bullivant in 1974, comprising 120 watches. Together these make the Ashmolean collection one of the most important outside London. The history and development of watch design and decoration is extremely well-served, with many important examples dating from the sixteenth century to those made in the mid-nineteenth century. This handbook explores thirty of the best from the collection.