Piece Unique Roger W. Smith Series I

With every day that passes, the horological marketplace which consumes my attention becomes a more diverse and interesting place. It would be callous of me not to discuss this development. A Collected Man, the long established leader in independent retail, recently changed the game by announcing ‘exceptional’ auctions. These single lot auctions will exist to highlight just a sole very special watch. In this case, ACM got an order in to Mr. Smith five years ago, before the list was closed. This weekend, that watch is up for grabs. And it’s totally unique.

The circular Series I is Roger Smith’s most recent time-only master stroke. Confusingly, it comes after the Series II, which came after the square Series I. Yeah, I don’t get it either. But the watch is a masterpiece. Roger Smith follows the Daniels method, which is to watchmaking what cooking from scratch is to the culinary world: that one man should be responsible for the design, machining, and assembling of a piece. But beyond that, Smith has been carrying the flag for the co-axial escapement well before Omega alongside its inventor, Daniels. The man will only produce about ten watches each year, allowing each to be its own memento to mechanical artistry. Almost no one ever sells what Smith creates for them. Why on Earth would you, unless the commission was purchased with intent to sell? That is the development we have observed this week.

The details of this piece unique are many. First, the classic 38mm case is in white gold with a silver dial. That dial had design input from ACM, with contrasting basket-weave and diamond guilloché set against a silver chapter ring where traditional Roman numerals have been replaced with batons everywhere but 12. This is a minimalist Series I, which in fact may be its most beautiful expression. The icing on the cake? It was born with a blank plaque on its movement, upon which the winning bidder’s initials may be engraved. I don’t know what the next Smith to come up for auction will be. But none of this additional value proposition will be there. Expect this one to cause quite the stir. I must also applaud ACM’s bravery for taking this next step in the face of a current market which has shown itself to be less burgeoning than recent years. Did I mention my birthday is this weekend? Anyone?

This is where I normally comment on condition, but it’s a new watch. This one sort of breaks the usual format, so I’ll just link it out as per usual.

Find this Series I here from A Collected Man set to start at no reserve November 11.