Movie recommendation: The Watchmaker's Apprentice

[cheddar]

I had stumbled across this a couple of months ago and had added it to my to-watch list. Last night I finally did. It's just over an hour long, and basically is a documentary tells the story of how George Daniels took on Roger Smith as an apprentice. You get some nice looks at some of their watches and the workshops, but it really is centered on the story. I didn't know much about either one of them, so it was nice to learn more (and fit in well with my paced reading of [mention]sistem_32[/mention]'s Haute Horlogerie thread).

One thing I really liked was Daniels' philosophy on what a good watch should do and the importance of finish. This from a man who invented the most important movement mechanism in a couple of hundred years. So often we get fixated on movements when we talk watch value; it was nice to be reminded of the importance of dial and case finishing. Also amazing to hear about the time and effort required to hand-make a watch.

Anyway, I think most folks here would enjoy watching it. It's currently available on YouTube for free, or for a couple of bucks through most other streaming services.

[sistem_32]

Very interesting! Another good watch is a half-hour documentary on Daniels' work, including his relationship with Sotheby's and the City of London, called A Man of Time and filmed while he was still in his most active years.



And if you really want to go crazy, here's an 85 part interview with Daniels in his later life. It includes some interesting insights.