5-7-2019
The Space Traveller I watch created by George Daniels, a legendary horologist, in 1982 was sold tops US$4.6 million at Sotheby’s Masterworks of Time auction in London, breaking the record for a timepiece by an independent watchmaker and the highest price achieved for a watch at auction this year.
The watch was a commemoration of the American moon landing in 1969. Described by him as “the kind of watch you would need on your package tour to Mars”, the Space Traveller I was built with both solar and sidereal time, equation of time and phases of the moon, housing his famed independent double wheel escapement.
Daniels started out as a watch repairer for decades then became a watch handcrafter after he left the British army in 1947. In 1969, he sold his first handcrafted pocket watch to his vintage watch dealer friend who inspired him to be a watchmaker for £2,000. 23 pocket watches were created during his lifetime. One of his greatest achievements was the creation of coaxial escapement, put an end to traditional escapements which requires lubricant. The design had a wide application in Omega watches in the 1990s.
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