Roger W. Smith

Roger W. Smith, born 1970 in Bolton, Lancashire, UK, resident in the Isle of Man, is an independent watchmaker. Smith was a Bronze Medallist of the British Horological Institute (awarded to the most outstanding graduating student of any given year).[1][2]

Biography

Born in Bolton near Manchester in 1970 Roger Smith grew up with little interest in academic pursuits, but having a talent for the practical. On reaching the age of 16, his father suggested enrolling on a course at the local Manchester School of Horology. Subsequently, he passed out top of his class, winning the British Horological Institute’s Bronze medal awarded for the highest overall mark of the year. During his time on the course George Daniels (1926–2011), a man who is widely regarded as the greatest horologist of his time, was a visiting speaker, and from that moment Roger knew that he wanted to make watches by hand.

Smith became interested in making watches by hand, using Daniel’s book ‘Watchmaking’ he set about making his first pocket watch in his spare time. Two years later, aged 22, Roger took the watch to Daniels, who told him to go back and start again because it looked ‘handmade’, not ‘created’. Not deterred by this response, Smith returned to his workshopstudio, and spent the next 5 years making and remaking, his second pocket watch, until he had perfected all the thirty-two skills required to design and make a watch in "The Daniels Method". Finally happy with the watch, he took the watch back to Daniels, and this time obtained his approval.[3]

Shortly afterwards, Daniels invited Roger to move to the Isle of Man and work with him on the ‘Daniels Millennium’ series. On completion of the series, three years later, Smith set up his own studio on the Isle of Man. He produced his ‘Series 1’, a series of 9 rectangular cased watches fitted with a retrograde calendar complication built over a period of 3 years. His Series 2 was launched in February 2006.

In 2010, Smith formed what would become his final collaboration with Daniels, to produce a series of 35 wristwatches to commemorate the 35th Anniversary of Daniels’ invention of the Co-axial escapement, for which he was awarded a CBE in recognition of his services to horology.

The collection of watches is firmly in the Daniels style, as developed over a life-time’s work devoted to the further development of the mechanical time-keeper and the handmade watch. It is also the first Daniels production wristwatch to have been designed and made in its entirety on the Isle of Man. Launched by Daniels and Smith at Salon QP in 2010, it includes a development, conceived by Roger, to the original Co-axial design. Essentially this is through combining the upper and lower wheels into one, by adding raised teeth onto the lower wheel. This means that the co-axial escape wheel can now be made in one single operation, guaranteeing the concentricity of both sets of teeth with their pivot point. In addition, it also fixes the angular displacement between the two sets of teeth at the point of manufacture which removes potential set up errors.

In August 2011, Roger was awarded the Barrett Silver Medal of the British Horological Institute which is awarded for outstanding development or achievement in any field of horology. Roger was awarded the medal for ‘Dedication to and successfully continuing the finest traditions of English and British watchmaking’.

Daniels bequeathed his entire workshop to Smith, and he noted "George’s whole studio was geared towards the singular goal of one man being able to design and make a watch from start to finish”. Incorporated within the studio are Daniels’ Schaublin Lathes and Hauser Jig Borer, used to make vital high-precision parts for the watches, which combine with the hand engine-turning equipment, dating back to the 1820s.

“That, of course, is exactly the approach of the Roger W Smith Studio, but introducing the Daniels Watchmaker’s bench to the studio makes you fully appreciate its place in history. This was the focal point, the place where George’s watches were made. This is where the great man thought about his art and solved his problems. You get an incredible sense of what was achieved and to work on that bench is inspiring and daunting at the same time!”.

Smith lives with family on the Isle of Man. He is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers.

Roger has featured in the following:

He has also filmed a series of mini-films for YouTube.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Roger W. Smith". Tp178.com. 2002-10-14. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
  2. ↑ "Roger W. Smith – British watchmaking is alive and (...)". Europastar.com. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
  3. ↑ "BBC News - The man who makes £100,000 watches". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
  4. ↑ "rwsmithwatches". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-05-17.

External links