LONDON — Counterfeiting is a persistent problem in the world of haute horlogerie: Jean-Daniel Pasche, president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, estimates that the organization destroys about a million counterfeit watches every year.

But even as the 21st-century Swiss watch industry continues to wrestle with the problem, new research suggests it was 18th-century Swiss watchmakers who created the first mass-produced counterfeits.

Rebecca Struthers, 31, a horologist and researcher, focused on the early fakes in her work on the doctorate in horology she received in May from Birmingham City University in England, a degree the university says is the first of its kind in Britain. She is also a founding director of Struthers London, the bespoke watchmaking studio she runs with her husband, Craig.

Ms. Struthers said she first came across one of the forgeries in 2008 while cataloging antique watches at Fellows auctioneers in Birmingham.