Originally founded in London in 1851 by Samuel Smith, the company first established itself by making automotive dials and cockpit instruments and obtained a Royal warrant in 1907.  A factory was built in Cheltenham at the beginning of the Second World War, and it is from this factory that the majority of vintage Smiths come from.  It was at this time that Smiths’ military involvement began.  They received contracts from the MoD to provide watches, which they made from scratch.  By the end of the War, Smiths consisted of over 20 companies, ranging from motors to aviation, and, of course, clocks and watches.  By the late 1970s, the clock and watch division of the company had broken up.  The most famous Smiths wearer has to be Sir Edmund Hilary, who carried a Smiths watch to the summit of Everest.