In 1884 Alfred Hirst opened a jewellery and watchmaker's shop at Union Street, Oldham. Alfred's bothers, Fred and Samuel, soon joined him in the business which became styled Hirst Brothers. The company traded in watches, alarm clocks, jewellery, leather, glasses and optical equipment. Hirst Brothers expanded rapidly, with branches established in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Glasgow. In 1898 the company was incorporated as Hirst Brothers & Co. Ltd.In 1912 Alfred Hirst saw one of his greatest ambitions realised with the introduction of the Limittrademark on his range of watches, a move which heralded the start of a new era in the watchmaking industry. The early Limitwatches carried a movement from the Waldenburg factory in Switzerland, which were shipped to the Oldham headquarters for assembly into British made Dennisoncases.
During the First World War Hirst Brothers focused on the production of precision mechanical instruments for the Royal Flying Corps. Following the end of the War, the company decided to enter watch manufacturing for themselves. A five-storey factory named Tame Side was established in Saddlesworth near Oldham, and clocks and watches that were made there became renowned for their quality. By the mid-1920s however, there were cheap clock imports from Germany and production turned to radio sets and gas meters.
In 1963 Time Products (UK) Ltd. acquired the Limitbrand of watches. Time Products continued operations in Oldham until 1999 when the business was moved to Leicester. In 2013 its watches were being made in the Far East using Japanese quartz movements.
