Isle of Man, United Kingdom · born 1970
Roger W. Smith
VerifiedHand watchmaking and coaxial escapement development
Life & work
Roger Smith trained under George Daniels and continued the practice of making watches almost entirely in one workshop, including further development of the coaxial escapement.
His work is a direct continuation of an English hand-watchmaking method that had otherwise nearly disappeared.
Training, contributions & innovations
- Continued and developed the English hand-watchmaking method
- Further development of the coaxial escapement
Inventions & patents
- Development work on the escapement is documented by the workshop; patent positions are held by the parties involved.
Signatures & markings on surviving work
- Signed and numbered watches with workshop documentation.
Collecting significance
Signatures on historic work were applied by retailers and by later hands as well as by makers, so attribution should rest on the movement's construction and on documented provenance rather than on the name alone. A specialist opinion is worth obtaining before any purchase made on the strength of a signature.
Related photographs
No confidently matched photograph of this subject has been found yet. These photographs show a closely related record, and are not examples of the type described on this page.
Sources & references
- Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers
- Loomes, B., reference works on British and European clockmakers (edition-dependent)
- Museum catalogue entries for signed examples
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.