Series 1

Roger Smith’s entry reference: a 36mm time-only watch built with the single-wheel co-axial escapement developed by his mentor George Daniels. Roughly 10 watches produced per year from the Isle of Man workshop; finishing and case-making are done in-house by Smith and his small team.

Year introduced: 20101 reference

References in this family

Roger W. Smith Series 1 · Series 1
top-luxurymodernSmith Co-Axial (hand-wound, in-house, single-wheel co-axial)36mm2010–presenteditorial
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Which ref to buy

Roger W. Smith is George Daniels's direct apprentice and the closest living continuation of the Daniels watchmaking tradition. Every watch is produced almost entirely by hand on the Isle of Man. The coiled spring escapement, developed with Daniels, is used in each series. Production is approximately 10 watches per year across all series.

1
Roger W. Smith Series 1 · Series 1Buy
Series 1 -- the founding expression of RWS, hand-made on the Isle of Man, coiled spring escapement.
The case for it:
Roger W. Smith produces roughly 10 watches per year. Each one is hand-made by Smith and a small team using British craftsmanship traditions that trace directly to George Daniels. The coiled spring escapement is a legitimate horological innovation. There is no other watchmaker working at this level with this heritage still in active production.
Consider instead if:
The waitlist for a Roger W. Smith is years long and allocation is at the maker's discretion. This is not a watch you buy on the secondary market easily -- the community around these watches is small and tight-knit. An aspiration, not a purchase.
Open

Rankings last reviewed 2026-06-07. Editorial perspective only. Not financial advice.

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