Roger W. Smith

Roger W. Smith, who preserves and continues George Daniels’s knowledge and legacy throughout his career, produces his distinctive English timepieces on the Isle of Man. The Series 2, his first series-produced model, is a hand-wound wristwatch with a power reserve indicator, whose design and construction are strongly reminiscent of vintage English pocket watches. Overall, Mr Smith’s timepieces are a striking blend of traditional handcraftsmanship and the use of one of the most advanced modern escapements: the co-axial escapement, originally developed by Mr Daniels in 1975.

After founding his own brand in 2001, following more than a decade working with Daniels, Mr Smith focused on the rectangular Series 1 watches for several years. The Series 2 watch was launched in 2006 and unlike Series 1, which used parts from a Swiss ebauche, became the brand’s first watch entirely crafted in Mr Smith’s own workshop, with all manufacturing done in-house (as always stipulated, except for some components requiring specialised technologies, such as jewels, crystals etc.). It is worth noting that Mr Smith prefers the designation “Series Two”, but the market generally refers to the watches as “Series 2”, as engraved, for example, on the caseback of this watch.

This Series 2 in yellow gold is one of the earliest watches in this edition, its movement engraved with serial number 10, making it a highly prized timepiece from Roger W. Smith’s early period. After producing the first Series 2 watches, in 2008 Mr Smith decided to limit production of this model to three Editions, totalling 90 pieces — 30 in each gold color. However, as customers preferred custom-made watches, he soon abandoned the Edition concept, ultimately releasing only five pieces each in yellow (Series 2 Edition 1), rose (Edition 2), and white gold (Edition 3). 

In the early Series 2 watches, including this one, Mr Smith used the original Daniels co-axial escapement design with a double escape wheel, consisting of two stacked wheels on one pinion, as envisioned in Daniels’s design. In 2010, Mr Smith replaced the double escape wheel with a single one, referring to this escapement as Version 1. A further modification followed in 2012, when the Version 2 escapement was introduced, featuring an escape wheel with very long teeth and no rim. The transition to the Version 3 escapement, which reduced the escape wheel diameter from 6 mm to 4.5 mm, occurred in 2014. One of the main goals of these modifications was to reduce the moment of inertia of the escape wheel, which generally aligns with the technical evolution of the Daniels co-axial escapement in Omega watches. In a significant number of late Series 2 pieces, Mr Smith abandoned the original austere, technical appearance of the calibre in favour of a more decorative look, with hand-engraved finishes on the barrel bridge and the balance cock.

The Roger W. Smith Series 2 is one of the rarest modern watches produced in series, even by the standards of independent watchmakers: only 60 pieces are known to have been issued between 2007 and 2019, before Mr Smith introduced the Series 2 with the upgraded Mark 2 movement. Produced using traditional handcrafted techniques, each watch, including this example, is essentially unique. Notably, this Series 2 in yellow gold is one of the earliest examples, its movement engraved with serial number 10, making it a highly valuable early Roger W. Smith timepiece. The Series 2 has defined the concept of modern, English-made collectible watches, giving this watch both historical significance and considerable collector appeal.