![]() The finishing of the frosted and gilded plates has been further finessed and refined. Turning over to the movement side, there is also a difference that goes beyond that of a different (and new) movement. One of the charms about the Daniels Anniversary I saw is, in fact, that its dial idiosyncrasies make it possible to identify from other exemplars. Dial wise, it is in the engraving and inking that there is the most obvious difference between the two watches, with the inking less obviously done by hand in the Series 1. As with the other Roger Smith watches, numbers and letters are hand engraved and inked in by hand before being coated with lacquer which is applied by hand using a brush. The dial, a combination of hand engine-turned silver with inlaid 18 carat yellow gold chapter rings against a flame-whitened background, is now familiar. In terms of overall impact, the Series 1 is brighter and more ‘shiny’ as it were, than the more subdued Anniversary. They are very clearly closely related, but it is as though they are step siblings. I can’t speak to the other other case metal options, but in comparing this yellow gold Series 1 to the yellow gold Anniversary, what surprised me was that they ‘feel’ quite different. Against all expectations even two years ago, I have now been able to see and handle two pieces, the Daniels Anniversary and this new Series 1. Since his first Series 1 timepiece in 2001, fewer than one hundred pieces have come out of his workshop. As you can see, it is numbered and signed, as well as dated.įor the average person, it is a rare thing to be able to handle one watch from the workshop of Roger Smith, let alone two. Screwed are flame-blued to a blue-purple shade. The movement beats at 18,800VPH and features classic English finishing, and frosted and gilded plates. This time-only watch contains, as mentioned, a movement with Roger Smith’s latest single wheel version of the Daniels Co-axial escapement, a free sprung Quadrajust balance, raised barrel bridge, and a balance cock which is engraved with an English floral design. The engine-turned dial in this example is not the only option available, you can also discuss an engraved dial. The owner of this Series 1 decided to go for yellow gold case, hands, and chapter ring. ![]() I had the good fortune to be able to see one of these new pieces.Īll of his current range watches come in a choice of platinum or 18 carat yellow/ red/ white gold cases. This movement development meant a chance for him to re-examine at his entire collection, and a ‘refreshing’ of the Series to include his horological development. All the new manual-wind Series are based around the same train of wheels, new escapement, winding and setting mechanisms, but each watch has its own individual base plate. The result of these years of work are this current collection, all of which include the latest version of Smith’s co-axial escapement. This additional calendar complication has also resulted in the Series 4 being 44mm as opposed to the 40mm size of the others. The current (new) Series 2 has hours, minutes, and seconds, and a power reserve indicator and the Series 4, has day and month indications/ markers along with a moon phase. The original Series 1 featured a retrograde date, a complication which is now situated within the new Series 3. It now exists, in the form of the new Series 1. This watch also lead to enquiries about the possibility of a time-only wristwatch sans the flag. The escape wheel, now 23% lighter and leading to improvements in timekeeping, was as light as he could make it, so he decided to reduce its size, which meant that the rest of the escapement, main plate, and bridges, also needed to change. The next major evolution was the one used in 2013’s Union Jack adorned GREAT Britain. Smith found that the lighter the escape wheel, the better it performed. He did not sit on his laurels, but continued to work on it. In 2010, Smith created a single-wheel version of George Daniels’ co-axial escapement, This improvement enabled more accurate escapements which led to improvements in actual timekeeping. It is one of these new pieces that is the focus of today’s post.įirstly, let’s go back a bit. ![]() Less than a year before the Anniversary, at Salon QP 2015, Roger Smith announced new Series 1, 2, 3 and 4 watches, scheduled for delivery commencing in 2018. Two years ago, I wrote a post about the Daniels Anniversary watch, which you can read at this link. Home › English watchmaking › HANDS-ON : Roger W.
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