George Daniels is one of the few watchmakers whose name still changes the temperature of a room.
For IAMWATCH 2026 in Singapore, George Daniels 100: “The Genesis of Artisanal Watchmaking” brings together an unusually deep view of his life’s work, not as a loose tribute, but as a concentrated look at the roots of modern independent horology.
Presented by Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo and The Hour Glass, the exhibition marks the centenary of Daniels’ birth with a gathering that will be difficult to repeat.
At a glance
- George Daniels 100: “The Genesis of Artisanal Watchmaking” will be a major exhibition at IAMWATCH 2026 in Singapore.
- The exhibition assembles 22 watches, including both Space Traveller I and Space Traveller II.
- It runs at The Singapore EDITION from 12 to 15 November, with public days from 13 to 15 November and complimentary admission.
A rare gathering of Daniels’ life’s work
Daniels was born in 1926 and became a self-taught horologist, engineer and master craftsman whose career unfolded through one of watchmaking’s most turbulent eras.
He lived through the rise of quartz timekeeping and the industrial pressures that reshaped the traditional Swiss watch industry.
Before his death in 2011, he also saw the early momentum of the modern mechanical revival and the emergence of independent artisanal watchmaking as a serious force.
That context is part of what gives this exhibition its weight.
Daniels made 24 pocket watches and two wristwatches over his career, before later working with his protégé Roger Smith on the Millennium and Anniversary Series of timepieces.
To have 22 watches assembled in one exhibition means visitors will see the majority of Daniels’ catalogue in a single setting.
Space Traveller I and II under one roof
The headline moment is the pairing of Space Traveller I and Space Traveller II, both dated 1982.
Space Traveller I is regarded by many as the purest physical expression of Daniels’ watchmaking philosophy.
Space Traveller II followed after Daniels regretted selling the first edition, and it developed the idea further.
Its most significant addition was a chronograph capable of measuring sidereal and mean solar time, folded into an already intricate pocket watch.
Space Traveller II also became Daniels’ personal watch for the rest of his life, which gives its presence here a more intimate charge than rarity alone can provide.
The Co-Axial thread and other important pieces
The exhibition also includes a 1987 grand complication and the unique four-minute tourbillon.
Another important inclusion is a platinum Omega De Ville from 1999, from the first series of commercial watches made using Daniels’ Co-Axial escapement.
That commercial chapter matters because Daniels wasn’t only a maker of extraordinary one-off watches.
His ideas entered the broader watchmaking conversation, and the Co-Axial escapement remains central to how many collectors understand his technical legacy.
A film premiere and the IAMWATCH setting
Alongside the watches, George Daniels 100 will feature an exclusive early premiere of a new film exploring Daniels’ influence and his enduring role in independent artisanal watchmaking.
The exhibition takes place at IAMWATCH 2026 at The Singapore EDITION from 12 to 15 November.
Public days run from 13 to 15 November, with complimentary admission and registration open.
For collectors, students of horology and anyone trying to understand why independent watchmaking has become such a powerful cultural category, this is more than a centenary display.
It is a chance to see the work of a watchmaker whose methods, convictions and inventions still shape the field he helped define.
