Daniels London wacthes:
George Daniels (Daniels London - Dr George Daniels MBE Master Watchmaker - The Art of Watchmaking ).
Dr George Daniels MBE, DSc, FSA (born 1926) is an English watchmaker who is famous for creating the co-axial escapement. This has been used by Omega in their highest grade watches since 1999. He is one of the few living watchmakers who can create a complete watch by hand; including the case and dial. He is a former Master of the Clockmakers' Company of London and has been awarded their Gold Medal, a rare honour.
A Daniels watch is made entirely under one roof without assistance. Every component is made from raw materials in the workshop without the use of repetitive or automatic tools. Thus, no two watches are identical and each is accepted as a work of art. Daniels watches are never made to order and all start life as a vehicle for testing escapements. The form of the watches is complete simplicity and no concessions are made to artificial styling. The hand engraved dials are turned for contrast while the hands are of the simplest form first used on watch No. 1 in 1969.
The advance of the quartz watch in the 1970s was responsible for the closing of the Swiss watchmaking schools. The revival of the mechanical hand-made watch by George Daniels in 1969 attracted the attention of connoisseur collectors of watches from which blossomed the new era in precision wrist watches.
The two most successful of his revolutionary escapements are the co-axial and the independent double-wheel, both of which have found international support in the notoriously conservative watch industry. These escapements represent the first advance in the practical design since the invention of the lever escapement by Thomas Mudge in 1754.
Their success lies in the tangential impulse and lock in both vibrations of each oscillation without sliding friction which, unlike the conventional lever escapement, are unaffected by changes in viscosity of the lubricant.
A Daniels watch is made entirely under one roof without assistance. Every component is made from raw materials in the workshop without the use of repetitive or automatic tools. Thus, no two watches are identical and each is accepted as a work of art. Daniels watches are never made to order and all start life as a vehicle for testing escapements. The form of the watches is complete simplicity and no concessions are made to artificial styling. The hand engraved dials are turned for contrast while the hands are of the simplest form first used on watch No. 1 in 1969.
The advance of the quartz watch in the 1970s was responsible for the closing of the Swiss watchmaking schools. The revival of the mechanical hand-made watch by George Daniels in 1969 attracted the attention of connoisseur collectors of watches from which blossomed the new era in precision wrist watches.
The most recent attempts by the Swiss industry to produce a innovative escapement leave much to be desired. To assist them understand the required principles he has written The Practical Watch Escapement.
Extra complications are included in some watches. These can include tourbillon, temperature and equation sectors, chronographs and reserve of winding indicators. Such mechanisms can be beneficial when adjusting high-precision mechanical watches needing a stable power supply. The work with experimental prototypes continues in Daniels' workshop because he sees horology as a continuous scientific art, with social significance and useful qualities.
The decline of the mechanical watch industry is reversed and there can be no doubt that George Daniels, with his improved designs and individual interpretation of progress, has made the most substantial contribution by demonstrating that the mechanical watch can perform as well has the electronic watch and is more attractive to the public.
The Millennium watches were especially designed to fulfill the wish of some friends and aqaintences to own and wear a Daniels watch. 50 examples were made and were the first series of watches with the especially designed extra flat co-axial escapement. As with all Daniels London watches simplicity is the keynote while artificial styling is avoided.
By 1974 he had completed designs for the co-axial escapement, and after rigorous testing the results were extremely positive and later earned him the prestigious Tompion Medal - then, only the fifth ever to be awarded. Consequently, the co-axial escapement was later adopted by Omega for use in its premium watches.
In July 2006 Sotheby’s of London staged a retrospective exhibition of all 36 timepieces which was the first time all pieces have been displayed together and presented a unique view of the progression of his work.
George Daniels (Daniels London - Dr George Daniels MBE Master Watchmaker - The Art of Watchmaking ).Dr George Daniels MBE, DSc, FSA (born 1926) is an English watchmaker who is famous for creating the co-axial escapement. This has been used by Omega in their highest grade watches since 1999. He is one of the few living watchmakers who can create a complete watch by hand; including the case and dial. He is a former Master of the Clockmakers' Company of London and has been awarded their Gold Medal, a rare honour.
A Daniels watch is made entirely under one roof without assistance. Every component is made from raw materials in the workshop without the use of repetitive or automatic tools. Thus, no two watches are identical and each is accepted as a work of art. Daniels watches are never made to order and all start life as a vehicle for testing escapements. The form of the watches is complete simplicity and no concessions are made to artificial styling. The hand engraved dials are turned for contrast while the hands are of the simplest form first used on watch No. 1 in 1969.
The advance of the quartz watch in the 1970s was responsible for the closing of the Swiss watchmaking schools. The revival of the mechanical hand-made watch by George Daniels in 1969 attracted the attention of connoisseur collectors of watches from which blossomed the new era in precision wrist watches.
The two most successful of his revolutionary escapements are the co-axial and the independent double-wheel, both of which have found international support in the notoriously conservative watch industry. These escapements represent the first advance in the practical design since the invention of the lever escapement by Thomas Mudge in 1754.
Their success lies in the tangential impulse and lock in both vibrations of each oscillation without sliding friction which, unlike the conventional lever escapement, are unaffected by changes in viscosity of the lubricant.
A Daniels watch is made entirely under one roof without assistance. Every component is made from raw materials in the workshop without the use of repetitive or automatic tools. Thus, no two watches are identical and each is accepted as a work of art. Daniels watches are never made to order and all start life as a vehicle for testing escapements. The form of the watches is complete simplicity and no concessions are made to artificial styling. The hand engraved dials are turned for contrast while the hands are of the simplest form first used on watch No. 1 in 1969.
The advance of the quartz watch in the 1970s was responsible for the closing of the Swiss watchmaking schools. The revival of the mechanical hand-made watch by George Daniels in 1969 attracted the attention of connoisseur collectors of watches from which blossomed the new era in precision wrist watches.
The most recent attempts by the Swiss industry to produce a innovative escapement leave much to be desired. To assist them understand the required principles he has written The Practical Watch Escapement.
Extra complications are included in some watches. These can include tourbillon, temperature and equation sectors, chronographs and reserve of winding indicators. Such mechanisms can be beneficial when adjusting high-precision mechanical watches needing a stable power supply. The work with experimental prototypes continues in Daniels' workshop because he sees horology as a continuous scientific art, with social significance and useful qualities.
The decline of the mechanical watch industry is reversed and there can be no doubt that George Daniels, with his improved designs and individual interpretation of progress, has made the most substantial contribution by demonstrating that the mechanical watch can perform as well has the electronic watch and is more attractive to the public.
The Millennium watches were especially designed to fulfill the wish of some friends and aqaintences to own and wear a Daniels watch. 50 examples were made and were the first series of watches with the especially designed extra flat co-axial escapement. As with all Daniels London watches simplicity is the keynote while artificial styling is avoided.
By 1974 he had completed designs for the co-axial escapement, and after rigorous testing the results were extremely positive and later earned him the prestigious Tompion Medal - then, only the fifth ever to be awarded. Consequently, the co-axial escapement was later adopted by Omega for use in its premium watches.
In July 2006 Sotheby’s of London staged a retrospective exhibition of all 36 timepieces which was the first time all pieces have been displayed together and presented a unique view of the progression of his work.
