A small island, just 53km long and 22km wide, plonked between England and Northern Ireland is home to the “most talented watchmaker alive”. That’s according to Hamdan Al Hudaidi, a vastly experienced watch collector who operates the Middle East’s first horology consultancy in Dubai.
Al Hudaidi is talking about the British independent watchmaker Roger W Smith.
“I’ve met Roger many times, he’s a good friend,” says Al Hudaidi who has several pieces from the revered watchmaker in his personal collection. Al Hudaidi’s interest in Roger W Smith began in 2016 when he kept coming across the watchmaker’s name in books.
Upon realising Smith’s special talent, Al Hudaidi placed an order for a watch and was told he would be put on a preliminary waiting list for the actual waiting list. Five years later, the watch arrived from Smith’s workshop on the tiny Isle of Man.
“When I first saw the piece, I was stunned, it was shocking,” recalls Al Hudaidi. Shocking in a good way or shocking in a bad way? “A very good way! It was beyond what I expected. Roger likes to impress, so when you order a watch from him you will definitely not get what he told you. It will be better—and it will be a surprise.”
Al Hudaidi is a true student of horology and a voracious reader of the history of the craft. On the shelf in his Dubai office is a limited edition book about 19th century watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet that was written by British watchmaker George Daniels who provides a crucial link to Roger W Smith. The pioneering Daniels was considered one of the finest horologists of all time and was famous for inventing the co-axial escapement in the 1970s, which is regarded as one of the most significant horological developments in 250 years.
“George Daniels still inspires watchmakers around the world,” says Al Hudaidi. Daniels was born in London but later moved to the Isle of Man where he set about creating masterful timepieces. One day a hopeful young watchmaker by the name of Roger W Smith visited Daniels to show him a watch he had made. “George told Roger to basically go away and do a better job,” Al Hudaidi laughs.
“George was extremely talented, but was not a very easy person to deal with,” he adds delicately. “Roger returned a few years later to show George his latest watch and this time George said, ‘It’s okay.’ If George calls something okay, it means he thinks it is exceptional!”
The two men worked together until 2001 when Smith decided to strike out on his own and create a watch brand “with an unswerving ethos to craft watches to a peerless standard of horological excellence,” he says. “My journey has been one of continual discovery. Mastering the Daniels Method, the art of hand-crafting a watch—devised by my mentor, the great George Daniels—was my first great challenge. Since then, I have explored the future of mechanical watchmaking.” Speaking of his teacher Daniels, who passed away in 2011, Smith adds, “He was the greatest horologist of his time.”
Does Al Hudaidi believe Smith has now surpassed his mentor Daniels? “In certain areas, yes,” he replies. “The most important thing for a watch brand is identity. It’s very hard to create a shape that identifies the company or watchmaker; it’s even harder for independentwatchmakers because they don’t make many pieces. But you can always tell it’s a Roger Smith watch because it has a unique shape—they are beautiful pieces.”
Al Hudaidi founded Ashfields Consultancies in May 2021, using his considerable expertise and global network to advise around 30 private clients around the world on their watch collections. He also consults for watch brands on their development, positioning and strategy in the Middle East. Around the corner from his office in DIFC is Perpétuel Gallery, an elegant boutique housing rare vintage and new pieces, including some made by another fine independent British watchmaking brand, Frodsham.
“British watchmaking is very special to me,” explains Al Hudaidi. “The Swiss watch industry has a lot of variety, which makes rarity less. In the British watch industry there are fewer brands so there is more rarity in a sense—and that is some thing that is really important to me.”