For the first time, the two most consequential pocket watches George Daniels ever made will sit side by side. Space Traveller I and Space Traveller II headline GEORGE DANIELS 100 “The Genesis of Artisanal Watchmaking,” a 22-watch George Daniels exhibition that opens at IAMWATCH 2026 in Singapore on November 12 before traveling to Phillips in London in February 2027. Phillips is staging the show in association with Bacs & Russo and The Hour Glass to mark the centenary of the British watchmaker’s birth.
George Daniels 100, an exhibition marking the British watchmaker's centenary, shows 22 of his watches at IAMWATCH Singapore from November 12-15, 2026, then at Phillips London from February 9-14, 2027. It is the first time Space Traveller I and II are displayed together.
The lineup draws on 22 of Daniels’ most significant pieces, some rarely seen in public and others borrowed from museum collections. A new documentary produced by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will also premiere during the exhibition.
George Daniels, the Watchmaker Behind the Exhibition
Dr. George Daniels CBE, born in 1926 and gone since 2011, was a self-taught horologist, engineer, and craftsman who spent his life proving that a watch could still be made almost entirely by one pair of hands. He mastered 32 of the 34 disciplines required to build a watch by hand, and each of his pieces took more than 2,500 hours, a good part of a year. Across his lifetime he completed 24 pocket watches and two wristwatches, the Four-Minute Tourbillon and the Spring Case Tourbillon, before continuing his Millennium and Anniversary series with his apprentice, Roger W. Smith.
His influence reaches well beyond the watches themselves. His book, simply titled Watchmaking, remains on the bench of practically every working watchmaker, and many credit it with starting their careers. In our view, it is impossible to understand today’s independent scene, from the waitlists at small ateliers to the auction records for hand-finished pieces, without starting with Daniels. That makes this show feel less like a tribute and more like an origin story.
Timing matters, too. Interest in independent, artisanal watchmaking has never been stronger, and seeing the man who paved the way for that movement in a single room, with both Space Travellers together, is the kind of moment collectors talk about for years.
The exhibition runs at IAMWATCH 2026 at The Singapore EDITION from November 12-15, 2026, with public days November 13-15 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It then moves to Phillips in London from February 9-14, 2027, giving European collectors their own chance to stand in front of the watches that started it all.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Exhibition | GEORGE DANIELS 100 "The Genesis of Artisanal Watchmaking" |
| Organizers | Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo and The Hour Glass |
| Watches on view | 22 |
| Singapore venue | IAMWATCH 2026, The Singapore EDITION |
| Singapore dates | November 12-15, 2026 |
| Singapore public days | November 13-15, 2026, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. |
| London venue | Phillips London |
| London dates | February 9-14, 2027 |
Timely FAQs
When and where is the George Daniels 100 exhibition?
How many watches are in the exhibition?
Who was George Daniels?
What are the Space Traveller watches?
