As an ambitious 26 year old George Deacon, having moved from his home town of Westbury, realised the need for time-keeping in a fast growing town of the industrial revolution. The business was able to expand, winning one of the timing contracts for the Great Western Railway on the line between Paddington and Swansea from the early 1850s until 1893. It is difficult to imagine that in 1848 the California Gold Rush was yet to happen (1849) and Cecil Rhodes had not even contemplated opening up South Africa. In these early days George Deacon was reliant on obtaining diamonds, precious and semi-precious stones from South America, in particular from Brazil where an agent was employed to bring back goods to England.
