Roger W. Smith

Roger W. Smith (born 1970) is a British independent watchmaker. Smith was a Bronze Medallist of the British Horological Institute (awarded to the most outstanding graduating student of any given year).

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 in the Institute, George Daniels 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 instructions from Daniel’s book Watchmaking he set about making his first pocket watch in his spare time. In 1990, Roger then aged 22 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 workshop, and spent the next five 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". Upon his completion of a second watch, he took the watch back to Daniels, and this time obtained his approval.

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 Daniels was appointed knighthood 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’.

Upon his death in 2011, George 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.

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:

• Morgan Freeman – Through the Wormhole Series; ‘The Birthplace of Time’ episode.
• Radio 4 – ‘In Business’ program with Peter Day, ‘Ticking Over’.
• Radio 4 news – Commenting on ‘What happened to the Radio 4 pips?’
• Granada ITV news – ‘The Gift for the person who has everything’
• A one hour documentary (2015) – 'The Watchmaker's Apprentice'

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