Dr. George Daniels autobiography – “All in Good Time: Reflections of a Watchmaker”
The late Dr. George Daniels is often hailed as one of the most influential watchmakers of all time, talked about in the same breath as the likes of the great Abraham-Louis Breguet. This is because Dr. Daniels is the creator of the co-axial escapement, a huge step forward in a component that had otherwise remained largely the same since its inception by Thomas Mudge in 1750. Daniels’ invention reduced the friction generated by movement in the escapement in turn making it more efficient with regard to energy transfer as well as reducing the need for servicing.
If you want to learn more about his co-axial escapement, check out the Watch Affinity article here.
In George Daniels’ autobiography, All in Good Time: Reflections of a Watchmaker, we get a fascinating insight into the story behind the man. The first few chapters tell the story of his childhood, growing up in poverty in London during the 1930s. Young George grew up with 10 brothers and sisters, moving around London, and recounts many memories from his largely gloomy childhood. The shining light of which was the discovery of his love for watches – even recounting his first memory of seeing the inside of a watch during his first year at school. It started from such a young age and it was a passion which continued to grow and was ardently pursued at every opportunity.
George Daniels Autobiography: "All in Good Time: Reflections of a Watchmaker"
It was interesting for me to learn of Daniels’ passions outside watches; he talks early on about his bicycles (at one point describing how “the best machines were handmade to the requirements of the rider” – an indication of what it was that he valued), but greater still was his love for cars – Daniels was working full time at a mechanics at the age of 16 and throughout his life they continued to play a key part as he recounts time with his much loved Bentley. There is a final chapter dedicated to his love for cars as well.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Daniels’ watchmaking progressed massively, and when quartz watches arrived and instigated a crisis for mechanical watchmaking, he did not see quartz as an evolution in the technology – he instead sought about creating a movement that would happily tick away on his person for up to 15 years, uninterrupted. A famous quote of Daniels’ is “The quartz watch is entirely dependent on its battery and it has the dedicated ambition to commit suicide as soon as possible.”
As you would expect, there is a great deal of the book dedicated to his co-axial escapement and his endeavours toward persuading the Swiss watch industry to adopt his ideas. This is incredibly interesting to read through, and there are a great multitude of photographs in the book of various timepieces and diagrams of horological components.
George Daniels’ Space Traveller on show at the London Science Museum
One thing that occurred to me was conspicuous by its absence through the book, and that was that whilst there is a plethora of material talking about his horological achievements – and rightly so – it struck me that there is a distinct lack of talking about his family, which was both surprising and also perhaps not. Daniels grew up with 10 siblings and they are barely mentioned, and the same could be said for his wife and daughter. The more I thought about this, I considered it to be a reflection of both his inordinately tough upbringing, and an absolute dedication to his craft above all else.
I found George Daniels’ autobiography to be a truly engaging read and a wonderful insight into the mind of one of the greatest watchmakers of all time, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in horology.
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You might also be interested in:
- “It’s complicated”: the Co-Axial escapement
- A Visit to the Clockmakers’ Museum, London
- Recommended Reading: ‘A Man & His Watch’ by Matt Hranek
- Watch Stationery and Gift Ideas
- Watch Books, Watch Boxes and more at the Watch Affinity Shop on Amazon (commissions earned)
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