Document Details In Memoriam Dr. George Daniels CBE MBE, Horologist,:
Number of documents found: 1
- Title: In Memoriam Dr. George Daniels CBE MBE, Horologist,
SubTitle: [Obituary submitted to the NAWCC Watch and Clock Journal] - Author: Fortunat F. Mueller-Maerki
- Publisher: Author
Keywords:
Other Keywords: George Daniels
Language: ENG
Notes: The world of contemporary horology mourns one of its most talented, most colorful, and most opinionated personalities, as well as one of very few people in the present era who could rightfully claim to be a watchmaker in the literal sense of the world, i.e. have the insights, manual skills and knowledge to design, make and finish all the parts of a watch themselves.I have always been fascinated with the genius of George Daniels since I first encountered him as a horological author. His literary output was varied and sustained: From his earliest titles (together with his friend Cecil Clutton: Watches (1965), and The Collection of Clocks and Watches in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers ) and his pocket watch history English and American Watches (1967), to the two scholarly books: Art of Breguet (1977, published in several language editions) and Watches and Clocks in the Sir David Salomon Collection (1980), one of hardest to find horological books, and the reference book Freemen of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (1984, privately published). Probably his most influential book, simply called ?Watchmaking? (1981, with illustrations by David Penney, translated into several languages and recently republished), is the only contemporary text that actually describes step-by-step how all the components of a watch are made. Later in life he wrote The Practical Watch Escapement (1994), one of very few books dealing with the fundamentals of escapement theory, and finally All in Good Time (2000), his autobiography, recently republished in an updated edition.I first met George Daniels in 1993 when he gave the ?James Arthur lecture? at the Longitude Symposium at Harvard, and subsequently at some events of Sotheby?s and the Antiquarian Horological Society. He always was a good speaker, both entertaining and informative, and it was unsurprising that he started collecting various honors, ranging from an honorary doctorate in Engineering, becoming the Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (the historic London clockmakers guild), to becoming first a Member (1981), later a Commander (2001) of the Order of the British Empire.But I only fully appreciated his achievements once I learned more about his life by reading his autobiography. He was born as the oldest of ten children into a loveless and dysfunctional family scraping by at the lowest edge of economic sustainability. Because of his rare combination of a superb intellect, immense determination, and a natural affinity to things mechanical, he was able to turn an early interest in timekeeping mechanisms into a rudimentary horological education by experimenting and memorizing the public library?s? copy of F.J. Britten?s? Watch and Clockmakers Handbook. His first job - at age 16 - involved repairing cinema projection equipment. By 1944he was conscripted into the Army ? which meant the first time he had a bed to himself. He served in Egypt as a Company clerk, quietly studying ?the officer class?, and ran an improvised watch repair business on the side. By 1947 he returned to the UK and started working as a watch repairer.From these humble beginnings he worked himself up the ladder, both professionally and socially. Along the way he first worked for, then befriended, Cecil Clutton one of the great British watch collectors of the 20th century, who introduced him to historic timekeepers and specifically to Breguet watches. By the mid-1960s Daniels was a recognized repairer of Breguet watches, and became the official representative of the house of Breguet for the UK. Shortly thereafter he started to build one-of-a-kind watches of his own design, but always inspired by the Breguet aesthetic. Eventually he produced around 30 different, unique Daniels watches at the rate of about one per year, These are works of art and ingenuity highly prized by the top watch collectors of the world (all but one of his handmade watches were united for a five day exhibit in London in 2006 to celebrate his 80th birthday). For much of the second half of his working life Daniels was obsessed with making a better watch escapement. The result was the Daniels Co-axial escapement, which has been called ?the first fundamentally new and viable watch escapement in over 200 years?. The battle to convince somebody in the entrenched Swiss watch manufacturing industry is described in some detail in his autobiography and consumed most of his energy during the 1990s.The rebirth of one-of-a-kind, artisanal watchmaking toward the end of the 20th century would never have happened without the unique combination of superb craft skills, mechanical genius, a creative mind and outright stubbornness that was George Daniels. The global community of horological connoisseurs and aficionados owe him deep gratitude as we all mourn this exceptional horologist.The world of contemporary horology mourns one of its most talented, most colorful, and most opinionated personalities, as well as one of very few people in the present era who could rightfully claim to be a watchmaker in the literal sense of the world, i.e. have the insights, manual skills and knowledge to design, make and finish all the parts of a watch themselves.I have always been fascinated with the genius of George Daniels since I first encountered him as a horological author. His literary output was varied and sustained: From his earliest titles (together with his friend Cecil Clutton: Watches (1965), and The Collection of Clocks and Watches in the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers ) and his pocket watch history English and American Watches (1967), to the two scholarly books: Art of Breguet (1977, published in several language editions) and Watches and Clocks in the Sir David Salomon Collection (1980), one of hardest to find horological books, and the reference book Freemen of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (1984, privately published). Probably his most influential book, simply called ?Watchmaking? (1981, with illustrations by David Penney, translated into several languages and recently republished), is the only contemporary text that actually describes step-by-step how all the components of a watch are made. Later in life he wrote The Practical Watch Escapement (1994), one of very few books dealing with the fundamentals of escapement theory, and finally All in Good Time (2000), his autobiography, recently republished in an updated edition.I first met George Daniels in 1993 when he gave the ?James Arthur lecture? at the Longitude Symposium at Harvard, and subsequently at some events of Sotheby?s and the Antiquarian Horological Society. He always was a good speaker, both entertaining and informative, and it was unsurprising that he started collecting various honors, ranging from an honorary doctorate in Engineering, becoming the Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers (the historic London clockmakers guild), to becoming first a Member (1981), later a Commander (2001) of the Order of the British Empire.But I only fully appreciated his achievements once I learned more about his life by reading his autobiography. He was born as the oldest of ten children into a loveless and dysfunctional family scraping by at the lowest edge of economic sustainability. Because of his rare combination of a superb intellect, immense determination, and a natural affinity to things mechanical, he was able to turn an early interest in timekeeping mechanisms into a rudimentary horological education by experimenting and memorizing the public library?s? copy of F.J. Britten?s? Watch and Clockmakers Handbook. His first job - at age 16 - involved repairing cinema projection equipment. By 1944he was conscripted into the Army ? which meant the first time he had a bed to himself. He served in Egypt as a Company clerk, quietly studying ?the officer class?, and ran an improvised watch repair business on the side. By 1947 he returned to the UK and started working as a watch repairer.From these humble beginnings he worked himself up the ladder, both professionally and socially. Along the way he first worked for, then befriended, Cecil Clutton one of the great British watch collectors of the 20th century, who introduced him to historic timekeepers and specifically to Breguet watches. By the mid-1960s Daniels was a recognized repairer of Breguet watches, and became the official representative of the house of Breguet for the UK. Shortly thereafter he started to build one-of-a-kind watches of his own design, but always inspired by the Breguet aesthetic. Eventually he produced around 30 different, unique Daniels watches at the rate of about one per year, These are works of art and ingenuity highly prized by the top watch collectors of the world (all but one of his handmade watches were united for a five day exhibit in London in 2006 to celebrate his 80th birthday). For much of the second half of his working life Daniels was obsessed with making a better watch escapement. The result was the Daniels Co-axial escapement, which has been called ?the first fundamentally new and viable watch escapement in over 200 years?. The battle to convince somebody in the entrenched Swiss watch manufacturing industry is described in some detail in his autobiography and consumed most of his energy during the 1990s.The rebirth of one-of-a-kind, artisanal watchmaking toward the end of the 20th century would never have happened without the unique combination of superb craft skills, mechanical genius, a creative mind and outright stubbornness that was George Daniels. The global community of horological connoisseurs and aficionados owe him deep gratitude as we all mourn this exceptional horologist.
Edition: 2011-11 -- Copyright: 2011
Kind: Article
Type: Timekeeper (general)
Geographic area: United Kingdom
Organization: Person
Pages: 3 -- Height in cm: 27
Print Status: 1 (1 means in print - 2 means out of print)
Entered By: fortunat
BHM No: 16341 - Publisher: Author
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