Article | George Daniels 100 The Genesis Of Artisanal Watchmaking Opens At Iamwatch 2026

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo and The Hour Glass present GEORGE DANIELS 100 “The Genesis of Artisanal Watchmaking”, a historic exhibition dedicated to the work of Britain’s greatest watchmaker to mark the centenary of his birth.

The once-in-a-lifetime event will begin at IAMWATCH 2026 in Singapore from 12-15 November 2026 and will continue at Phillips in London from 9-14 February 2027. The exhibition will feature 22 of George Daniels’ most significant pieces, some of which have rarely been seen in public, along with others from museum collections.

The exhibition also marks the first encounter of George Daniels’ two most consequential pocket watches - the Space Traveller I and Space Traveller II – and will features the avant-premiere of a new documentary created by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo.

About George Daniels

Dr. George Daniels CBE (1926-2011) was a British watchmaker widely regarded as one of the most influential of the modern era. A true Renaissance man, he was a self-taught horologist, engineer, and master craftsman who devoted his life to the preservation and advancement of traditional hand-made watchmaking.

In his lifetime, he made twenty-four pocket watches and two wristwatches (the Four-Minute Tourbillon and the Spring Case Tourbillon) before continuing his Millennium and Anniversary series with his apprentice, Roger W. Smith. When you consider that each of his watches took over 2,500 hours to create—a good part of a year—this number reveals the enormous scale of Daniels’ achievement.

He mastered thirty-two of the thirty-four disciplines required to craft a watch by hand and detailed his work in his seminal book entitled, quite simply, Watchmaking. This book can be found on the shelves of every watchmaker today, many of whom credit George Daniels for fueling their love and knowledge for watchmaking.

The Centenary

This year marks the centenary of George Daniels’ birth, providing a moment to reflect on the life and legacy of this legendary British watchmaker. Today, curiosity in independent artisanal watchmaking has never been stronger, giving us renewed interest in those first intrepid independent watchmakers, who paved the way for others to follow.

IAMWATCH Details:

Dates: 12–15 November 2026 (Public Days: 13–15 November 2026.)

Opening Hours: Public Days 11am – 8pm

Location: The Singapore EDITION, Singapore.

Admission: Free, though advance online registration is required.