Our final live auction of the fall 2023 season is here. The PHILLIPS New York Watch Auction: NINE takes place on December 9 and 10, at our New York headquarters. The auction includes more than 150 of the world's finest watches – including the modern Omega De Ville Hour Vision onced owned by George Daniels that is featured below.
– By Logan Baker
We all know the name George Daniels. Widely considered the most important watchmaker of the 20th century, Daniels spent his entire career completely dedicated to watchmaking by hand. In addition to building a number of pocket watches – and an even smaller number of wristwatches – under his own name, he pioneered new escapement technology, he wrote what is arguably the most important English-language textbook on watchmaking ever, and he trained an apprentice, Roger Smith, in his unique methodology.
Interestingly, George Daniels, by himself, only ever crafted two wristwatches throughout his entire career. – Phillips sold one of those, the Spring Case Tourbillon, last November in Geneva for a record CHF 4,083,500 – the rest of the watches featuring the George Daniels name, such as the Anniversary and the Millenium series, were either partially or wholly completed by Roger Smith, Daniels’ apprentice.
But if you’re just interested in owning a watch that was owned, handled, or gifted by Daniels, although they’re still supremely rare, they can be much more affordable than a wristwatch made by Daniels or at least one with his name on the dial.
Take the Omega De Ville Hour Vision pictured above that's included in this weekend’s New York Watch Auction: NINE – its first owner was Daniels, before it sold at his post-humous estate sale in 2012, for GBP 18,750. It comes to auction for the second time in its history this weekend (lot 13), carrying an approachable estimate of USD $8,000 to $16,000.
This specific De Ville is cased in 18k pink gold and comes from Omega's modern interpretation of the line, as part of the Hour Vision series. It features an annual calendar, but more importantly, it utilizes Daniels' most famous invention, the co-axial escapement. And not only is it used inside, but it's placed on full display thanks to both the sapphire crystal exhibition caseback and unusual sapphire window placed on the left caseband that grants a different view of the co-axial escapement ticking inside Omega's self-winding caliber 8611.
Daniels was gifted this watch by the brand in 2010 to celebrate the continued application of the co-axial escapement at Omega. The Swiss brand bought the technical patent from Daniels, and today the co-axial escapement can be found in every Omega wristwatch. This watch was simply a way for Omega to pay thanks.
Those weren't the only Omega wristwatches in Daniels' possession over the years. He was also gifted a 2007 De Ville Chronometer with a black dial and no. 000/999 of Omega's first Co-Axial watch from 1999 by the brand. Other Omegas owned by Daniels include a pair of vintage 1970s Speedmasters that housed early experiments with the co-axial escapement and a set of three 1970s time-only Seamasters with central seconds in stainless steel. All of these watches first sold at Daniels' estate sale in London, in 2012.
An odd set of three skeletonized Omega De Villes from 2000 and cased in gold were sold by Phillips New York in 2019 for USD $40,000; although these watches came with a hand-written letter by Daniels, they don't appear to have ever been personally owned by him.
The most famous wristwatch owned by Daniels that doesn't feature either his or Omega's name on the dial is very clearly an F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain in platinum that was gifted by F.P. Journe to George Daniels in 2010. It has appeared at auction three times since Daniels' death, most recently at Phillips New York, in June 2022, where it sold for USD $1,482,000.
Another famous wristwatch that falls under the Daniels' lore is a specific Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3700, that Daniels converted to a co-axial escapement in 1981 at the request of Patek's request. It was the very first wristwatch to feature the co-axial escapement, Daniels is said to have worn it for 10 years consecutively. The watch is today on public view inside the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers at the Science Museum, in London.
Of course, Daniels owned a number of other watches in his lifetime. A few other notable pieces that he modified with a co-axial escapement include a 1989 Rolex Datejust ref. 16220 and a 1985 Urban Jürgensen Ref. 1. Other watches he's known to have owned over his lifetime and were sold during his 2012 London estate sale include: a circa 1970 Breitling Chrono-Matic, a circa 1970 gold-plated Breitling Navimiter Cosmonaute with a black dial, an 1965 Accutron, a 1965 skeltonized Tissot, a circa 1983 quartz Trafalgar Talking Watch, a circa 1950 time-only IWC with center seconds, a circa 1950 gold-plated triple calendar from Cornavin Watch Co., a 1929 Harwoord, and an unsigned Hamilton from 1996 that contains the first-ever ETA movement with a co-axial escapement. You can view the entire catalog from George Daniels' estate sale here.
You can learn more, place a bid, and view the entire New York Watch Auction: NINE catalog right here.
About Phillips In Association With Bacs & Russo
The team of specialists at PHILLIPS Watches is dedicated to an uncompromised approach to quality, transparency, and client service. Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo holds the world record for the most successful watch auction, with its Geneva Watch Auction: XIV having realized $74.5 million in 2021. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, the company sold 100% of the watches offered, a first in the industry, resulting in the highest annual total in history across all the auction houses at $227 million.
About Logan Baker
Logan has spent the past decade reporting on every aspect of the watch business. He joined Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the start of 2023 as the department's Senior Editorial Manager. He splits his time between New York and Geneva.
Recommended Reading
In-Depth: The One-Of-A-Kind Solid Gold G-Shock Designed By Artificial Intelligence
Why George Daniels Was The Greatest Watchmaker Ever
Celebrating The Patek Philippe Ref. 2597, One Of The Great Vintage Travel Watches