Luxury watchmaker Roger Smith has unveiled his landmark 100th handmade watch which costs around £340,000.

It also marks a ’significant milestone’ as it is the first of his ’Series Four’ of timepieces which has been eagerly awaited by specialists in the watch making world.

The wristwatch is identified by a special gold plaque, engraved ’The 100th R.W. Smith’ and there’s also a small Isle of Man Three Legs of Man symbol on the back.

It was pre-ordered in advance by a wealthy collector who lives in Hong Kong and is an established client of the Isle of Man based watchmaker, having previously snapped up several high-value timepieces.

The horologist, whose business, Roger W.Smith Ltd, has been based in the north of the island for 20 years, was honoured with the OBE for his ’outstanding services to watchmaking’ in 2018.

He moved to the island in 1998 and worked with his mentor, the late acclaimed watchmaker George Daniels, before setting up on his own and launching his own business in 2001.

Asked if he thought he’d ever get to producing 100 watches he said: ’There was never really a game plan to think about numbers really.

’We have always just tried to make as many as we can, which in fact has been staggeringly few, certainly in comparison with manufacturers who produce tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of watches a year.

’It has just been all about trying to make them to our high standards and not to compromise in any way on that quality or standard.’

Mr Smith said they were among only a ’very few’ manufacturers in the world who make a complete watch by hand from start to finish.

’Our approach, which is something I carried on from George Daniels, is to push forward and improve mechanical timekeeping.’

He and his team of around 13 skilled staff remain ’uncompromising about our approach’ and continue to make only a handful of watches a year.

Mr Smith first launched his design prototype of the Series Four wristwatch in 2015. It took a few years before work began on building it and that process has taken a year.

Mr Smith said the reaction to the Series Four watch so far has been ’hugely positive’ and ’we have future orders for the watch.’

Like all the watches they make they don’t have any spare stock, they are pre-ordered and there is a waiting list.

Customers, who are based around the world, can expect to pay six figure sums, from about £130,000 upwards for the watches.

As with all Roger’s current watches, the heart of the Series Four is his latest single-wheel co-axial escapement.

However, he said what truly defines this piece is the ’Travelling Aperture’ calendar complication, which he began designing back in 2012.