D. J. Cottrell
D. J. Cottrell
Many of the challenges I encountered in the production of pocket watches No. 1 and No.2 as well as the tourbillon wristwatch with my patented escapement, did not just centre on the important process of learning horological techniques and the theory of watchmaking design, as laid out in Daniels’ well-known book. Very quickly, working on my own, I encountered issues with tooling and machinery that were unexpected, and I was forced to take stock of what could be accomplished with the machines I already had at hand, and those which I would need find or create to complete my watchmaking projects in the most perfect manner possible.
I was very happy with the Schaublin lathe so well known in the watchmaking world that I was able to purchase in excellent condition here in the UK. This lathe was to be an important workhorse at the centre of my projects; however, my calculations during the movement design phase soon revealed that even this quality lathe would not have the accuracy I needed for creating certain small parts where tolerances were required in terms of only a micron here or there. This realization led me to taking the lathe apart and rebuilding various areas to make it deliver the accuracy I needed.
Craftsmanship
As a watchmaker in the full and original definition of the word, I create the designs and parts of my handmade watches, including every single screw, starting from raw materials. The only exceptions are the balance
spring and glass front. Working from my home workshop of circa 16 sq. meters in the heart of Somerset, United Kingdom, my working methods closely follow the Daniels method. The dragon engraving found on my timepieces, inspired by the coat of arms of Somerset, reflects my lifelong and personal connection to the area.
As a watchmaker in the full and original definition of the word, I create the designs and parts of my handmade watches, including every single screw, starting from raw materials. The only exceptions are the balance
spring and glass front. Working from my home workshop of circa 16 sq. meters in the heart of Somerset, United Kingdom, my working methods closely follow the Daniels method. The dragon engraving found on my timepieces, inspired by the coat of arms of Somerset, reflects my lifelong and personal connection to the area.
As a watchmaker in the full and original definition of the word, I create the designs and parts of my handmade watches, including every single screw, starting from raw materials. The only exceptions are the balance
spring and glass front. Working from my home workshop of circa 16 sq. meters in the heart of Somerset, United Kingdom, my working methods closely follow the Daniels method. The dragon engraving found on my timepieces, inspired by the coat of arms of Somerset, reflects my lifelong and personal connection to the area.
As a watchmaker in the full and original definition of the word, I create the designs and parts of my handmade watches, including every single screw, starting from raw materials. The only exceptions are the balance spring and glass front. Working from my home workshop of circa 16 sq. meters in the heart of Somerset, United Kingdom, my working methods closely follow the Daniels method. The dragon engraving found on my timepieces, inspired by the coat of arms of Somerset, reflects my lifelong and personal connection to the area.
As a watchmaker in the full and original definition of the word, I create the designs and parts of my handmade watches, including every single screw, starting from raw materials. The only exceptions are the balance spring and glass front. Working from my home workshop of circa 16 sq. meters in the heart of Somerset, United Kingdom, my working methods closely follow the Daniels method. The dragon engraving found on my timepieces, inspired by the coat of arms of Somerset, reflects my lifelong and personal connection to the area.As a watchmaker in the full and original definition of the word, I create the designs and parts of my handmade watches, including every single screw, starting from raw materials. The only exceptions are the balance spring and glass front. Working from my home workshop of circa 16 sq. meters in the heart of Somerset, United Kingdom, my working methods closely follow the Daniels method. The dragon engraving found on my timepieces, inspired by the coat of arms of Somerset, reflects my lifelong and personal connection to the area.
This same issue came up in different areas, wherein I needed to build various tools, such as clamping and holding devices for various tiny parts, as they were being guided through cutting, forming and finishing processes under my microscope.
However, one of the greatest challenges concerned dial making. So-called rose engines used to create the beautiful geometrical pattens seen on dials were antique, scarce and very hard to localize in the UK as well as abroad. Furthermore, at rare moments when I did finally come across such examples, their accuracy and condition were far from ideal. In the end, I realized that I would need to simply make my own design of such a machine, whilst simultaneously incorporating new ideas about its functioning and accuracy in the process.
There is more information about my ‘straight rose engine’ that can be found in the media section of this site; my main goal in its design were to make it as compact and accurate as possible. On both these aspects I feel it can be seen as a success.
My straight rose engine takes up only a small square of space on the workbench (as opposed to the antique versions that take up the space of an entire bookcase) and the increase in accuracy achieved means that the dial and its sub dials can be created as a single contiguous unit unlike the situation with ‘classic’ rose engines, where the dial needs to be decorated in several separate units before being assembled by soldering together.
This process of having to craft new tools continues on a regular basis. With the introduction of my new escapement and the release of Tourbillon wristwatch No.1,
I have had to continue the challenge of working with ever smaller parts and pieces with concurrent and increasing demands on the accuracy achievable within the realm of truly hand-made watchmaking.
