Naw - precise timekeeping evolved with the ability to reliably manufacture precision components. That's one of the ways in which it parallels cell phones! There's this whole technology race where material science and timekeeping mechanism development mutually urge each other on.

I think for larger clocks (like the ones repaired by John in S-Town[1]), hand-created components were far more common. They were developed as objects that would be maintained and watched by a large community and less precision was manageable.

[1] https://stownpodcast.org/