London, U.K. – Reported by Elite Traveler, the Private Jet Lifestyle Magazine
If there was anyone, watchmaker or watch enthusiast who wanted to attend a dinner, it was the one organised to honour George Daniels on Thursday, June 24, 2010 at the Lanesborough Hotel in London. The dinner was hosted to celebrate the extensive achievements, innovation and expertise George Daniels brought to the watch world.
This exclusive and memorable dinner was organised by F.P.Journe’s long time London partners John and William Asprey, (William & Son, our UK agent) during which François-Paul Journe was honouring his long time friend and mentor George Daniels, one of the foremost watchmakers of the 20th century, who gave him the creative inspiration that has significantly stirred his horological career.
F.P.Journe declared: “Without George Daniels, I would most certainly never have stared to make my first watch: George is definitely the foremost watchmakers of this 20th Century. It was in 1969, when the mechanical watch industry was dethroned by the arrival of quartz, that you started making your first watch. You were the pioneer; the first watchmaker who showed us the path to horology of Art, a non-utilitarian horology. The rest proved you were right, Swiss horology was back from the ashes in constructing watches of Art and ceremonial timepieces; the landscape repopulated in two decades.
You have opened the main door of contemporary horology and showed us the path back to authentic watchmaking with innovation sense, in the respect of the grand horological tradition of our great watch masters. He opened the main door; I could only follow in opening others. But the most difficult to open was definitely the first one. George I am proud to be your friend and I wish to thank you immensely for all the incentive and inspiration you brought me, and I could only hope there would be more watchmakers like us making real horology.”
François-Paul Journe then presented a thoughtful homage timekeeper to George Daniels, a Chronomètre Souverain of his collection, especially made for him and dedicated on the bridge of the movement: FP to George Daniels my Mentor 2010.
Related
The evening gathered some of the most prominent faces of the horological scene, who had a serious implication in bringing back the long gone memories of the great watch masters: independent master watchmakers and some of George Daniels’ intimate friends.
Dr George Daniels, Master Watchmaker – Roger Smith, Master Watchmaker, former pupil of George Daniels – Jonathan Betts, Senior Watch specialist at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich – Tina Millar, Former Head of the Watch Division at Sotheby’s – John and William Asprey, William & Son – Sebastian Whitestone and Andrew Crisford, Bobinet – a few privileged watch collectors such as Stephen Luk, Anthony Kingsley, David Sitwell or David Newman, the editor of QP Magazine James Gurney and of course, François-Paul Journe.
www.fpjourne.com
Content from our partners
