Last week, Phillips announced what looks like the centerpiece of their fall auction lineup: a trio of hyper rare George Daniels wristwatches that are expected to sail well into six (maybe even seven) figure territory. While we don?t expect to be bidding this fall when the watches go on sale in Geneva, it?s hard not to admire the watches themselves, and the story behind them. Daniels is a towering figure in modern watchmaking whose impact can be felt right at this moment in any number of ways, and watches (particularly wristwatches) with his name on the dial come up for sale so rarely that news of an auction like this is the type that can?t really be ignored. 
Right off the bat, one of the most interesting aspects of this sale is the way Phillips is positioning the Daniels legacy. Throughout their press presentation, they refer to him as the ?Founding Father of Independent Watchmaking,? a designation I hadn?t considered prior to learning of this sale, but now find myself thinking about. Daniels, who famously made every component of his watches himself, by hand, and designed it all from scratch, seems like a throwback to an even earlier time, so it?s interesting to consider him as a bridge of sorts between the type of watchmaking that was happening in the 18th century and modern independents like the Gronefeld brothers, MB&F, or Kari Voutillainen.
George Daniels wearing the Spring Case Tourbillon

Those independents also all have styles that are immediately rec...