Article uniquement disponible en anglais
WORLDTEMPUS - 24 October 2011
Elizabeth Doerr
It was hard to imagine the watch industry before George Daniels, and it will be hard to imagine this place now that he has left it: Daniels was nothing if not an iridescent figure, often setting the tone of good horological taste behind the scenes.
This might be hard for newcomers to imagine today since Daniels only created a total of 37 watches – pocket watches, no less – in addition to a series of 50 wristwatches completed together with protégé Roger Smith called Millennium as well as the beginning of the collaborative venture with him introduced last year. As avid followers of horological history will know, the Omega base caliber powering the 50 Millennium timepieces held special meaning. Daniels was, of course, the inventor of the co-axial escapement that is now utilized in every single Omega wristwatch.
A true expert
Though Daniels began his professional life after serving his country in World War II with the proverbial 50 quid in his pocket – just enough to buy his first set of tools, as the story goes – his drive, ambition and enormous talent made him a very wealthy man. Some of his fortune was acquired by buying and selling precious vintage pieces and selling 35 of his own unique pocket watches, but most of it came from selling what was to become his most famous invention to the Swatch Group.
No two of Daniels' creations were ever completely alike. The next watch was always undertaken because Daniels had another idea to try out, another escapement to experiment with or desired other functions. He invented the co-axial escapement in 1975, but did not patent his perfected design until 1980. After a long search that involved talks with both Patek Philippe and Rolex over the course of a decade and a half, Daniels eventually sold the design to Omega, who needed almost another decade to bring it to serial fruition. Though the patent has now run out, no other watch brands use the co-axial aside from Omega and Smith, who has adapted it for use in his own masterfully crafted timepieces, which also contain other traditional elements of English watchmaking.
Personal memories
When I entered the watch industry, I had no idea who Daniels was. I soon read his opus “Watchmaking” (which was recently republished by Watchprint) in order to learn the basics. However, it was only after becoming friends with various independent watchmakers – predominately members of the AHCI – that I began to understand his place in our industry. One year at Basel, one of them even stood in line at the Omega booth in order to get his own copy of “Watchmaking” signed by the master – and couldn't stop beaming at the chance to meet his idol. Tellingly, François-Paul Journe also worshipped Daniels, even going so far as to present him with one of his own watches last year. For my own part, I found myself fairly well in awe in the presence of Dr. Daniels (he was presented with an honorary title later in life). His technical and industry insights and knowledge were eternally enlightening.
George Daniels passed away at his estate on the Isle of Man following complications arising from hip replacement surgery at the age of 85. A funeral is expected to be held on the Isle of Man in about two weeks' time.
Fans of Daniels will be pleased to know that a biography written by Michael Clerizo with the current working title “George Daniels: A Master Watchmaker and His Work” is due to be published next fall.
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