The Great British Watch at Auction: Tradition, Craft, and Innovation

With the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers, Watchmakers’ Day on 8 March it is a perfect opportunity to cover recent auction highlights featuring modern British watches. This article covers a broad selection of examples from the rarest to the newest. Plus providing further insight we have commentary from Alexander Barter, watch author as well as Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, (4th) Managing Director at Fears Watch Company about the tradition and innovation to be found in British watchmaking.

In order to start this article we first need to go back to 2 July 2019 when a then world record auction price had just been paid for an English watch, and a pocket watch at that! The watch, a remarkable piece named ‘Space Traveller I’ from 1982, was handmade by the famed British horologist and watchmaker Dr George Daniels, CBE, MBE, FBHI (1926 – 2011). Daniels’ is perhaps best known as the creator of the revolutionary Co-Axial escapement adopted by Omega in 1999. The successful bid came to a staggering £3.6 million including buyer’s premium with the watch sold at Sotheby’s New Bond Street, London auction rooms. Bidding for the pocket watch quickly exceeded the pre-auction estimate set at £700,000-1,000,000.

The sale came at a time when the watch auction market was well and truly on the way up. In 1988 Sotheby’s had sold the watch for CHF 220,000 (£194,190), now it was worth £3.6 million. Collectors were paying more attention to independent watchmakers so prices were quickly rising. But above all sales like the Daniels’ ‘Space Traveller I’ put modern British watchmaking in the limelight for a growing global collector community.

In many ways Daniels’ watchmaking spans the traditional to the modern. He sought to improve the watch movement but also studied the craft of classic watchmaking including the legacy of the English watch. In 1980 he was made Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, a London City Guild founded in 1631. Indeed it is this rich history of British watchmaking which has helped inform and guide many British watchmakers. To give insight into this legacy as well as the quest for innovation I spoke with Alexander Barter to get his views.

A Brief History of British Independents

Alexander Barter is a watch consultant, researcher and author. His books include, ‘The Watch: A Twentieth-Century Style History’ and ‘500 Years, 100 Watches’. I started by asking for his thoughts about the historical influences of British watchmaking on modern British watchmakers.

“One of the most exciting aspects of today’s leading British watchmakers is how they draw on Britain’s rich horological heritage and traditions in the design of their timepieces. For example, if you examine the architecture of the movements created by Roger Smith, Charles Frodsham & Co, and the Project 248 movement of Craig and Rebecca Struthers, the connection to traditional English watchmaking is immediately apparent.

“As the Struthers themselves have stated, Project 248 picks up where the British watchmaking industry left off in the late 19th century, featuring the once commercially extinct English lever escapement, which had been largely replaced by the Swiss lever in the 20th century. The design of their balance references the work of George Daniels, while the rocking bar keyless work pays homage to Derek Pratt. The almost solid movement backplate, with its intricately engraved decoration, is heavily influenced by 19th-century British watch movements”.

Continuing Barter noted, “Roger Smith and Charles Frodsham & Co. take a similarly purist approach, ensuring that their watches are created in the traditional English style while innovating within those parameters. Smith, a direct protégé of George Daniels, mastered all 34 essential horological skills, allowing him to create entirely handmade watches. His timepieces incorporate Smith’s own development of the Daniels co-axial escapement and are meticulously hand finished.

“Charles Frodsham & Co, meanwhile, achieved a major breakthrough by successfully miniaturising Daniels’ double impulse chronometer escapement for a wristwatch—an accomplishment even Daniels had not achieved in his lifetime. Their watch, 16 years in development, features a perfectly symmetrical 43-jewel movement with two going barrels and two escape wheels driving a single free-sprung balance, all finished to the highest standard with satin-brushed and black-polished steel. Their ceramic dial is influenced by a watch the firm made in 1903 and cases are made from 22ct gold, almost unheard of in contemporary watchmaking but traditional for English gold watches until 1798.

“Makers such as these, operating at the highest level of modern independent watchmaking, are breathing fresh life into an industry that Britain once dominated—before the Swiss ultimately took control. In reviving this craft, they remain true to the principles of the English style, while also borrowing and drawing inspiration from notable continental figures, such as Abraham-Louis Breguet, whose work profoundly influenced George Daniels, the man credited with reinvigorating British horology.

“What Smith, Frodsham & Co, and Struthers all have in common is their deep respect for traditional British craftsmanship, their commitment to producing watches in the English style, and their refusal to compromise on quality—ensuring that Britain’s horological legacy continues to thrive in the modern era”.

Roger W. Smith Watches at Auction

While the speculation and hype might not be quite what it once was in the secondary watch market post the 2022 peak, pieces by the top leading independents are still sought after. So your plans of buying one of these watches at a bargain basement price may need to be put on hold. However variations in auction prices can still be found in the market. Take for example two very rare 18k white gold Series 2, Edition 3 wristwatches made by the highly esteemed and important British watchmaker Dr Roger W Smith, OBE, which came up for auction in 2024.

Remarkably given their rarity both wristwatches sold in November 2024. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo sold one Roger W. Smith 18k white gold Series 2, Edition 3 wristwatch while Christie’s sold another. The Christie’s watch was noted as No.3 while the Phillips’ watch was listed as No.4 in an edition of just five 18k white gold watches produced. Both are manual wind, sized 38 mm, with co-axial escapements, small seconds and power reserve indication. The Phillips’, piece was owned by a Japanese collector and came with accessories including a service history booklet as well as a fitted bespoke presentation box.

The Christie’s watch was given an estimate of CHF 220,000 – CHF 450,000 and sold in Geneva on 11 November 2024 for CHF 252,000, (£222,210), including buyer’s premium.

Phillips’ watch was given an estimate of HK$2,350,000 – 4,700,000 and sold in Hong Kong on 22 November 2024 for HK$3,429,000, (£349,280), including buyer’s premium. The higher value for the Phillips’ watch may have related to its catalogued date of production in circa 2013, while the Christie’s watch was catalogued as having London hallmarks for 2010. Additionally the Phillips watch came with more accessories. Like all auctions however it can simply come down to the bidders on the day making it challenging to provide exact comparisons. What these results do show is the continuing interest by collectors in rare watches by Roger W. Smith.

As a small side note, the Christie’s watch came with the opportunity for the successful bidder to have a free service of the movement up to 6 months following the purchase at Christie’s by Roger W. Smith and a visit of his workshop on the Isle of Man – lucky winning bidder!

On the subject of values for the very rarest Roger W. Smith watches, (including a pocket watch noted further on in this article), how about a co-signed piece between Roger Smith and George Daniels. Back in November 2023 Sotheby’s Geneva auctioned an outstanding and unique George Daniels, London, Millennium wristwatch from 2001 co-signed on the dial with Roger W. Smith. As Sotheby’s catalogued, the wristwatch is the only watch ever signed by both Daniels and Smith. Given an estimate in excess of CHF 1,000,000 the watch made a superb CHF 2,177,500, (£1,913,030), including buyer’s premium.

Just to help give a comparative – the difference in value between the unique co-signed piece mentioned above versus a singular signed George Daniels, London, Millennium wristwatch. Sotheby’s offered at auction in May 2024 an 18k yellow gold Millennium wristwatch made in 1999. It fetched CHF 508,000, (£446,300), including buyer’s premium.

Derek Pratt £3.2 Million Pocket Watch

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo provided one of the stellar auction sales in 2024. A handmade oval tourbillon pocket watch made by the renowned British watchmaker Derek Pratt, FBHI, (1938–2009) for Urban Jürgensen & Sønner completed in 2005. A contemporary of Dr George Daniels the two would speak about watchmaking. Pratt was awarded the BHI Barrett Silver Medal in 1992 and the Tompion Medal from the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in 2005.

While you might technically argue that a British watch needs to be made in the UK, Pratt’s important contribution to modern watchmaking fits perfectly within the British tradition. Additionally talented British watchmakers have taken their skills abroad before and will continue to do so much to the benefit of the industry as a whole. Watchmakers like Stephen Forsey (Greubel Forsey) and Peter Speake (PS Horology) are notable modern era examples.

As Phillips catalogued Derek Pratt was technical director at Urban Jürgensen & Sønner in Switzerland from 1982 to 2005. During which time he worked with Peter Baumberger along with Kari Voutilainen to re-establish the brand following the quartz crisis. The oval pocket watch project was started by Pratt in 1982. In 2004 Derek Pratt asked for Kari Voutilainen’s help to undertake the final finishing on the watch which was completed in 2005.

The watch has never appeared at auction before and was snapped up at an incredible CHF 3,690,000 (£3,238,583), including buyer’s premium. The estimate was simply stated as bids in excess of CHF1,000,000.

In addition to the Daniels’ ‘Space Traveller I’ and the Derek Pratt oval pocket watch another modern pocket watch to achieve a record price is a piece made by Roger W. Smith. In June 2023 in New York, a unique handmade Roger W. Smith 18k yellow gold pocket watch with a tourbillon, spring detent escapement, perpetual calendar, moon phase and leap year indicator made US $4,900,000 (£3,891,200), including buyer’s premium. Sold by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo the price broke the world record for a British watch. The timepiece was instrumental in proving Smith’s watchmaking skills to George Daniels who then engaged Smith to help him with making the Millennium series of wristwatches. Roger Smith would then go on to establish Roger W. Smith Ltd in 2001 based on the Isle of Man.

New Generation British Watches at Auction

While the most valuable watches will always make the headlines it’s well worth keeping an eye on the auction world to see what other British watchmakers are being featured. In December 2024, Christie’s New York included both Fears and Studio Underd0g wristwatches in their auction. The Fears, a limited edition Brunswick 38 ‘Jubilee Edition’ wristwatch sold for USD $3,780, (£3,000), while the Studio Underd0g Watermel0n Generation 1 wristwatch sold for USD 1,638, (£1300), including buyer’s premium.

Both watches were donated, by their respective watch brands, to benefit the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation. Commenting on the auction of their watch Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, (4th) Managing Director at Fears Watch Company noted.

“I first met Doug LaViolette at an event and he shared the story behind the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation, and I was truly inspired by its mission making it an honour to be asked to support the Foundation in a meaningful way. Supporting the LaViolette Watch Auction and Foundation is deeply important to us at Fears.  Since 1992, the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation has awarded over 1,160 scholarships, helping students achieve their educational aspirations”.

Speaking, for this article, about his wider observations on the positive progress across the British watchmaking industry Bowman-Scargill added.

“There is a growing appreciation for British watchmaking, both among collectors and within the industry itself. The Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers and similar initiatives have played a crucial role in elevating the profile of independent British brands, fostering collaboration, and reinforcing the UK’s rich horological heritage.

“We’ve observed increased consumer interest in British craftsmanship, with collectors actively seeking watches that embody traditional techniques while embracing modern innovation. The historical significance of British watchmaking—once at the forefront of global horology—is being rediscovered, and initiatives like the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers are helping to re-establish the UK as a key player in the industry.

“At Fears, we’ve seen first-hand how this renewed focus benefits independent brands. There’s a distinct appreciation for our heritage-driven yet contemporary approach, and as British watchmaking continues to gain momentum, we expect even greater international recognition and demand.”

Finally, to end this article which has covered a range of auction highlights for British watchmaking, two other watches caught my eye. One, a Bremont from 2021, incorporates a collab with British musician and artist Ronnie Wood. While the Bel Canto from Christopher Ward should need no introduction. Both the Bremont and Christopher Ward are members of the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers who will be exhibiting at the Watchmakers’ Day in March.

​Oracle Time 

Read More