Okay, so I’ve always been a bit of a watch nerd. Not the fancy, show-off kind, but the kind who gets lost in the mechanics of it all. I stumbled upon this guy, George Daniels, a while back, and let me tell you, his story is something else.
The man was a legend in the watchmaking world. Started from scratch, you know? His first project back in 1953 was a marine chronometer. I mean, who does that? This wasn’t just some weekend hobby; this was serious craftsmanship. So, I decided I had to try and understand what he did. I got online, started digging. Found out that in 1969, he made his first pocket watch by hand. Every single piece! And that’s where I decided, I’m going to learn about this.
I spent days, maybe weeks, reading everything I could find about him. This guy, he made all sorts of watches. We’re talking tourbillons, both one and four minutes, chronographs, equation pieces, repeaters – the whole nine yards. He even made something called “The Space Traveller,” which just sounds epic. I started getting really into it, watching videos, reading articles, anything I could get my hands on.
Then I found out about his early days. After ten years of hustle, the man opened his first watch repair shop in London around 1960. He was apparently obsessed with this other watchmaker, Abraham-Louis Breguet, who was like the OG of fancy watchmaking back in the 1800s. It was like discovering a whole new world, and I was totally hooked. So I started trying to find watches like that. Old ones. Ones that needed repair.
I started small, you know? Found some old pocket watches at flea markets, online auctions, you name it. I even got a few books that described the history of watches, learned about different styles and makers. I bought some basic tools, set up a little workspace in my garage. It was a mess, but it was my mess.
My first few attempts were… rough. Let’s just say I broke a few things. But I kept at it. I started with simple cleaning and repairs, then slowly, very slowly, started figuring out how to fix more complex issues. I even managed to bring a couple of these old beauties back to life. It was frustrating, sure, but also incredibly satisfying.
It was interesting, I mean, I found his watches were designed for collectors and connoisseurs. That sparked a whole new era of wristwatch design. So I dug even deeper. I took the watches apart, piece by piece, and cleaned them up. Most of the time I had no clue what I was doing. But I took pictures, made notes, put them back together. It was great!.
The more I learned, the more I appreciated what Daniels did. He made a total of 37 watches in his life. 37! Each one a masterpiece. I’m nowhere near that level, obviously, but just understanding a fraction of his skill is pretty mind-blowing.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
- Patience is key. You can’t rush this stuff.
- Every detail matters. Even the tiniest screw plays a role.
- It’s okay to mess up. That’s how you learn.
- There’s always more to learn. The world of watchmaking is vast.
So, yeah, that’s my George Daniels journey so far. It’s been a wild ride, and I’m still learning every day. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even try to build my own watch from scratch. But for now, I’m happy just tinkering away in my garage, bringing these old timepieces back to life, one tick at a time.
