Roger W Smith | Philosophy

Roger’s philosophy has always been to take elements of Britain’s great horological past and advance them into the twenty-first century. To this end, he combines traditional hand building and finishing techniques with cutting-edge technology.

Early in his career, working on pocket watches by some of the most eminent British makers, Roger recognised that you could buy a fine English pocket watch and with very little work, restore it to its original condition. This was in stark contrast to what he was seeing in his repair work on modern wristwatches, which have always been designed to be machine built and with a limited lifespan.

Roger wanted to bring the three-dimensional character, strength, rigidity and reliability that he so enjoyed in the fine English work, to modern-day British wristwatches. Using traditional materials, a Roger Smith watch encompasses the fundamental qualities of a fine English pocket watch.

The co-axial escapement was invented by Roger’s mentor, George Daniels. Having always appreciated the performance of the co-axial, it has now become a cornerstone of Roger’s philosophy. He continues to develop the escapement with the aim of achieving its fullest potential.

GEORGE DANIELS

From early in his career, Roger has sought to bring the production of his watches fully in-house. Today his watches are designed, manufactured and built within his workshop on the Isle of Man. All but the most specialised components, such as sapphire crystals and jewels, are made in-house from raw materials.