Wristwatch by Smith, Roger W; Daniels, George, 2010 — view 1 of 1
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Wristwatch by Smith, Roger W; Daniels, George, 2010

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Smith, Roger W; Daniels, George (maker); Roger W Smith (maker); George Daniels (maker)
Date
2010
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
Isle of Man, Isle of Man (dependant state), Isle of Man
Object type
Wristwatch
Holding institution
Science Museum Group, London
Accession / object no.
L2015-4227
Credit line
Lent by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers
Catalogue title (original)
Prototype for the 'Anniversary' wristwatch by George Daniels and Roger Smith

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Science Museum Group, London (object number L2015-4227), this is a wristwatch by Smith, Roger W; Daniels, George, made in Isle of Man, Isle of Man (dependant state), Isle of Man, dated 2010. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Science Museum Group description

This prototype wristwatch was made to demonstrate the outward appearance of a collaboration watch between George Daniels and Roger Smith, and as such has no movement. The final watches, of which 35 were produced, featured a hand-made movement fitted with Daniels co-axial escapement and free-sprung balance. Clockmakers' Museum No. 1317

Historical context

Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)

Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.

Smartwatches became the world's best-selling watches, while mechanical watchmaking focuses on craft, innovation (silicon components, new escapements) and independent makers.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Mechanical Renaissance

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Read next:Detached lever escapementIdentification Centre

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