97th Auction

2018/5/12

Lot 277

George Daniels, London, "Millenium", Case No. SPB 99, 37 mm, dated 1999
An important automatic wristwatch in mint condition, with centre seconds, date and George Daniels' slim Co-Axial escapament - only 47 of the "Millenium" series were produced in yellow gold. With original presentation case and hand written letter from George Daniels
Case: 18k gold, glazed push back, winding crown positioned between "7" and "8" o'clock, case maker's punch mark "GD", original George Daniels 18k gold buckle. Dial: silvered, engine-turned, eccentric golden hour chapter ring with inlaid Roman numerals, gold date ring with Arabic numerals and silver cartouches on either side signed Daniels London, gold Daniels hands. Movm.: gold rotorwind movement, engine-turned, finely hand-engraved, slim Co-Axial escapement, monometallic balance.
The novelty movement with Dr. George Daniels' coaxial escapement was launched in the mid 1970s as one of the most important inventions of the century for mechanical watches - inspired by the tourbillon, the design of the coaxial escapement greatly enhances the performance of a high-precision timepiece's fine adjustment system. The escapement is virtually without sliding friction which means that, unlike the conventional lever escapement, the rate is unaffected by the viscosity of the lubricant.
The George Daniels Millenium watch No. "HJM" was sold at Sotheby's London on September 19th, 2017 for GBP 200,000 (lot 122). Sotheby's quotes Roger Smith in an extract:
"Designed by George in 1997, this watch marque houses some of the first co-axial movements off the Omega production line and is the culmination of a lifetime’s work by George to convince a reluctant Swiss watch industry that his escapement was the future for mechanical timekeeping.
The mechanism was heavily modified by George and me in his Riversdale studio and was one of a few pieces made over a three year period.
In the design of the Millennium wristwatch George transposed the aesthetics of his pocket watches into this wrist watch perfectly. By offsetting the mechanism within the case and artfully adding a calendar complication into the position normally reserved for the offset seconds, George created a wonderfully balanced dial and a perfectly realised wrist watch.
From my perspective, the Millennium watch was our first, but penultimate, collaboration, which would conclude with our Anniversary watch which George sealed with his approval just months before his death in October 2011."
Originally, Dr. George Daniels had planned to make only a dozen Millennium watches for his friends. Due to their popularity, however, 47 pieces were produced in yellow gold and 7 pieces in white gold in a limited edition.
Dr. George Daniels, CBE, DSc, FBHI, FSA (19 August 1926 – 21 October 2011) is considered by many to have been the finest horologist in the world during his lifetime and indeed, the last 250 years. George Daniels was one of the few modern watchmakers who could create a complete watch by hand. To achieve this, he had to master the thirty-two individual disciplines which are required to make a watch. Dr. Daniels was perhaps most famous for inventing the Co-Axial escapement, which revolutionised mechanical watchmaking. This has been used by Omega in their highest-grade watches since 1999.
Source: www.danielslondon.com, as of 04/03/2018.

Sold

estimated
175.000220.000 €
Price realized
229.400 €