A highlight of British Watchmakers’ Day, this one-off Series 1 will be the first time a new Roger W. Smith watch has been made available for immediate purchase by collectors.
As Britain’s leading watchmaker and Chairman of the sector’s trade body, the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, Roger W. Smith was determined to express his support for the first ever live show dedicated solely to British brands.
“One of the main ideas behind the event is for exhibiting makers to create a special edition watch that is only available for purchase on the day” explains Roger. “As Chairman, I wanted to lead by example but, as we make so few watches each year, it was a real challenge!”
Fortunately, Roger and his hand-picked team of exceptional watchmakers has more than met the challenge, producing what Roger describes as; “A Series 1 watch as I would make for myself”.
He explains; “Over the years, all the commissions for my Series of watches have been made with a modest customisation in their design to give my clients unique variations. The opportunity with this piece was to make what I wanted, and to have some fun!”
As he embarked on the build back in March 2023, Roger Smith went back to his original designs for his Series 1.
“I’ve been asked whether there’s a mark identifying this watch as a special edition for British Watchmakers’ Day. Although numbered as the Series 1 ‘No.32’, the irony is that it’s actually distinguished by not having a single mark or change to my original design.”
A time-only piece (showing hours, minutes and seconds), the resulting Series 1 has a deceptively simple yet sumptuous aesthetic. Housed in a 38mm red-gold case, it has a mixed metal dial with a silver engine-turned background inset with red-gold chapters.
“The movement which, as ever is driven by the single-wheel co-axial escapement has my traditional English finish with gilded frosted plates and gold chatons” explains Roger. “I went back to my sketches and worked with our engraver to create the resulting English rose pattern on the barrel bridge. It really is my ideal vision for the Series 1.”
With an order book which has been closed since 2021 and a sequence of world records being achieved by Roger’s watches at auction, it is no surprise that, in the rarefied world of high-end collectors, this Series 1 is garnering enormous interest.
The Series 1 watch will be on high security display throughout British Watchmakers’ Day, along with the rare opportunity to see some of Roger’s other iconic pieces, such as The GREAT Britain; a Daniels Anniversary watch; and a Series 4 pieces featuring his ‘Travelling Date’ complication.
With a reserve price confirmed at £275,000 (excl. of VAT), the Series 1 special edition will be sold by closed bid auction through the rwsmithwatches.com website and Roger Smith has committed to donate any excess funds from the sale to the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, which is a not-for-profit organisation.
The closed bid auction will go live on rwsmithwatches.com from Monday 19th February and will close at 3pm on 9th March, towards the close of British Watchmakers’ Day.
