iW iW Fall 2021 | Page 41

ROGER SMITH Series 4 , Triple Calendar

Following his apprenticeship with the late George Daniels , Roger Smith has taken up the totem as the British master nonpareil . Devoting such exquisite attention to detail for every component of every watch , Smith ’ s timepieces are a rarity and among the most sought-after among wealthy collectors .
His most recent watch , an instantaneous triple calendar , here represents only the one-hundredth individual watch made at his Isle of Man atelier over the course of twenty years . Smith ’ s watches embrace an ethos of subtle complexity and understated ingenuity and finesse . Supremely elegant and easy to read , Smith ’ s latest creation houses his own manual-wind movement with the updated monobloc co-axial escape wheel .
The entire movement is finished with exquisite fillagree and frosting in gold with components held securely with screws authentically heat-treated to a variegated blue and purple hue .
On the dial-side more sophisticated aficionados will note the elegant solution to the day-of-the-month display . Rather than the typical date pointer with a hand that reaches out from the central post , Smith has deftly incorporated a system that uses a bracket that circles the perimeter of the dial and frames the current day of the month , leaving the view of the other displays uninterrupted by an additional hand emanating from the center .
This absolutely stunning timepiece can be customized to some extent and is only available by individual consignment for patient collectors . Although the atelier does not advertise prices , you can figure on a starting point in the neighborhood of $ 300,000 .
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