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Sale of Roger Smith pocket watch sets new world record of £3.8m

Pocket Watch Number Two sold for a world record sum for a British pocket watch

A widely admired pocket watch made by Isle of Man-based horologist Roger Smith has sold for a record £3.86m.

The piece was sold for $4.9m by auction house Phillips in New York, setting a new record for a British pocket watch.

Mr Smith went on to become the only apprentice of watch-making great George Daniels as a result of the creation of Pocket Watch Number Two in 1997.

Auctioneer Aurel Bacs said the watch "redefined contemporary independent watchmaking in all of Great Britain".

Roger Smith Roger Smith in his workshop in the 1990sRoger Smith
Roger Smith worked on the second pocket watch from 1992 until 1997

Mr Smith said sale of the piece, which has been in a private collection since 2004, had been a "profound moment" for him and the figure was "beyond all expectations".

"Pocket Watch Number Two is the most important watch I have made and, for the watch to have received such interest, has also been very humbling," he said.

The sale represented a "major milestone" in his horological journey and he hoped it would be a "meaningful statement for British watchmaking too", he added.

Courtesy of Phillips The mechanisms inside the pocket watchCourtesy of Phillips
Roger Smith, from Bolton, moved to the Isle of Man to work under the guidance of George Daniels

When Mr Smith was 22 he presented George Daniels with Pocket Watch Number One, but he was told it looked "handmade" and not "created".

The young horologist then spent five years working on his second pocket watch, creating each component by hand from raw materials at least five times.

Mr Smith previously said, after examining the craftmanship of the piece, Mr Daniels told the young horologist: "Congratulations, you are now a watchmaker."

Roger Smith Roger Smith (left) and George DanielsRoger Smith
George Daniels accepted Roger Smith as his one and only apprentice

Advertising the sale, the auction house said the timepiece represented "a landmark achievement in the industry" and "was the cornerstone of the 21st century English watchmaking renaissance".

Mr Bacs said he was "humbled" that Mr Smith had attended the auction in person, which saw an anonymous bidder snap up the piece.

"The watch has the most beautiful story, it's been a journey of seven years just to become the apprentice of the one and only George Daniels," Mr Bacs said.

The record sale was "testimony" to what the community thought of Mr Smith's work, and it would become the "crowning piece in any private or public collection", he added.

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