Talking Watches With Roger Smith

Today we're delighted to have with us one of the most respected figures in watchmaking: Mr. Roger Smith, who among many accomplishments, worked for many years with Dr. George Daniels, the inventor of the co-axial escapement. Roger continues Dr. Daniels' work today from his own atelier on the Isle of Man, where he makes about 10 watches per year to his own exacting standards. His goal, as he tells it, is to create a modern watch, but hand-made, and using traditional watchmaking methods, which advances the art and science of mechanical horology rather than relying on solutions discovered in the past. In his view, watchmaking is at its most interesting when, rather than depending on known quantities (such as the lever escapement), it probes its own boundaries, always seeking real improvements in precision and reliability as well – as you'll hear.