Roger W. Smith

Who is Roger W. Smith?

Roger W. Smith is a British watchmaker who makes watches by hand in a workshop on the Isle of Man, under the company Roger W. Smith Ltd, founded in 2001 (Roger W. Smith). He trained in Manchester, worked with George Daniels, the inventor of the co-axial escapement, and makes 15 to 20 watches a year, each to order (Roger W. Smith). This page covers his watches: their history, the series he makes now and who owns the company, then what to check if one is offered second-hand in the UK.

Because so few are made, Roger W. Smith watches rarely come up for sale second-hand, and each one’s history matters.

The history of Roger W. Smith watches

Smith’s watchmaking runs from a college course in Manchester through more than a decade learning from George Daniels to his own small company. The key dates are the second pocket watch (1997), the Millennium wristwatches with Daniels (1998 to 2001), his own company (2001), Series Two (2005) and his single-wheel co-axial escapement (2010).

Training. Smith began a three-year course at the Manchester School of Horology in 1986, where he made his first wristwatch, and in 1989 won the British Horological Institute’s Bronze Medal as its top-performing student (Roger W. Smith). George Daniels visited his college as a speaker, and Smith decided to make watches by hand (Wikipedia).

The pocket watches. Smith began his first pocket watch in 1990, working from Daniels’ book Watchmaking; Daniels told him it looked “handmade” and to start again (Roger W. Smith; Wikipedia). Smith’s own timeline says he finished his second pocket watch in 1997 after five and a half years, and that Daniels approved it. Sources differ on the dates: Wikipedia puts the second watch at about 1990 to 1995, and Phillips dates it to 1998.

With Daniels. In 1998 Daniels invited Smith to the Isle of Man to work with him on the Millennium wristwatch project, which produced 56 watches by 2001 (Roger W. Smith; Wikipedia). Europa Star describes Smith as Daniels’ former apprentice. Their last joint project, the Daniels Anniversary watch, marked 35 years since Daniels invented the co-axial escapement: Smith’s timeline says discussions began in 2009, the first watch went to Daniels in 2011 and the last was finished in 2025, while Wikipedia dates the series to 2010. When Daniels died in 2011 he left Smith his entire workshop (Wikipedia).

His own company. Smith founded Roger W. Smith Ltd in 2001 in a converted bedroom of his cottage in Ballaugh, on the Isle of Man, and took on his first employee in 2003 (Roger W. Smith). Series One, a time-only watch, was delivered from 2003; nine were made, the last in 2016 (Roger W. Smith). Series Two, with a power reserve indicator, was his first fully in-house design; Smith’s timeline dates its introduction to 2005, Europa Star (2013) to 2004 and Wikipedia to February 2006. Sixty were made between 2007 and 2019 (Roger W. Smith).

Recent years. Smith was awarded an OBE for services to watchmaking in 2018, the year the company moved to a purpose-built workshop (Roger W. Smith; Wikipedia). Series Three followed in 2018, Series Five (a renaming of the Series Two Open Dial) in 2019, Series Four in 2020 as the 100th Roger W. Smith watch, and Series Six in 2025 (Roger W. Smith).

What is Roger W. Smith known for?

Smith is known for making almost every part of his watches by hand in his own workshop, for carrying on the methods of George Daniels, and for his single-wheel version of Daniels’ co-axial escapement.

Made in-house. Smith says all but the most specialised components, such as sapphire crystals and jewels, are made in-house from raw materials, that a watch can have more than 400 parts and that some take over two years to make (Roger W. Smith). Balance springs, mainsprings, seals and straps come from specialist makers (Roger W. Smith). In 2013 Europa Star reported that Smith engine-turned the dials himself, with a full Series Two dial taking about two weeks.

The co-axial escapement. The escapement is the part of a movement that releases the mainspring’s energy in steady steps. Daniels designed his co-axial escapement in the 1970s, and Omega introduced a watch using it in 1999 (Wikipedia, George Daniels); see our Omega page. Smith has fitted it to his own movements since 2006 and in 2010 moved its teeth onto a single wheel, which he says allows a weaker mainspring; by 2014 the wheel was 4.5 mm across (Roger W. Smith). He says this gives service intervals “way beyond industry standards” (Roger W. Smith).

Small numbers. Smith makes 15 to 20 watches a year (Roger W. Smith). In 2013 Europa Star reported that he struggled to make more than 12 a year with a team of six watchmakers. Swisswatches Magazine, reviewing the Series Six in 2026, put total output at fewer than 200 timepieces across all six series since the company was founded.

Which Roger W. Smith watches are there?

Smith’s website lists six series, of which Series Three to Six are the current watches; Series One and Series Two have ended (Roger W. Smith). The series table on this page gives a line on each current series. A few points help when you read listings:

• Series and numbers. Only nine Series One and sixty Series Two watches were made (Roger W. Smith). Check that the series and number in a listing match the watch and its papers.
• Daniels-related watches. Smith also worked on watches made in George Daniels’ name, including the Millennium and Daniels Anniversary series (Roger W. Smith; Wikipedia, George Daniels). Ask the seller which project a watch comes from.

Who owns Roger W. Smith?

Roger W. Smith Ltd is a small independent company on the Isle of Man, founded by Roger Smith in 2001 (Roger W. Smith). It is not part of a watch group. The company does not publish its shareholders, and we found no Roger W. Smith company on the UK Companies House register; the Isle of Man keeps its own companies register.

Buying a Roger W. Smith watch second-hand in the UK: what to check

Ask for the full history of the watch, confirm its series and number with the papers, check the seller’s right to sell, and plan how the watch will be shipped and insured.

1. Papers and history. Each watch is made to order (Roger W. Smith), so a second-hand watch should have a clear history back to its first owner. Ask for the original papers, receipts and any correspondence. Our guide to what “full set” means explains what each item proves.

2. Confirming the watch. Ask whether the workshop can confirm the watch’s series, number and service history. Our guide on how to spot a fake watch covers what an independent watchmaker looks at.

3. Where you buy. Auctions are one place these watches appear: Phillips sold Smith’s second pocket watch in New York in June 2023 (Wikipedia). Read our auction buyer’s guide and our guide to private sellers and dealers before you bid or pay.

4. Servicing. Ask when the watch was last serviced and by whom. With so few made, ask the workshop about servicing before you buy.

5. Stolen-watch check. Check the watch against a stolen-watch register before you pay. Our stolen-watch check guide lists the UK registers.

6. Shipping and insurance. Agree how the watch will reach you and who carries the risk in transit, and insure it from the day you own it. See how watches are shipped and insured and our guide to watch insurance in the UK.

For the full process from setting a budget to collecting the watch, see the guide to buying a luxury watch.

Frequently asked questions

Where are Roger W. Smith watches made?

In Smith’s workshop on the Isle of Man, where the company has been based since 2001 (Roger W. Smith).

How many watches does Roger W. Smith make a year?

15 to 20, each made to order (Roger W. Smith).

Was Roger W. Smith George Daniels’ apprentice?

He worked with Daniels from 1998 on the Millennium wristwatches, and Europa Star calls him Daniels’ former apprentice. Daniels left Smith his workshop when he died in 2011 (Wikipedia).

What escapement does Roger W. Smith use?

His own single-wheel version of the co-axial escapement invented by George Daniels, developed from 2010 (Roger W. Smith).

Does Roger W. Smith make his own parts?

Almost all of them. Smith says all but the most specialised components, such as sapphire crystals and jewels, are made in-house from raw materials (Roger W. Smith).

Is Roger W. Smith part of a larger watch group?

No. Roger W. Smith Ltd is an independent company founded by Smith in 2001 (Roger W. Smith).

This page is general information. Watch60 is independent and has no commercial relationship with Roger W. Smith.

We check the facts on this page against the sources listed, and it is correct to the best of our knowledge as of October 2026. Brands change their warranty, servicing and sales terms, so confirm them with the brand or the seller before you buy.