For his first-ever appearance at the Met Gala, Mark Zuckerberg avoided the kind of loud billionaire flex that usually dominates celebrity red carpets and instead arrived wearing one of the most intellectually revered watches in modern horology. Accompanied by his wife, Priscilla Chan, and dressed in a black tuxedo with a bowtie, the Meta CEO quietly revealed a rare yellow-gold George Daniels Anniversary on his wrist, a watch many collectors regard as one of the most important independent timepieces ever made.
Estimated to be worth as much as $1 million depending on provenance and condition, the watch is not simply rare in the conventional luxury sense. Only 35 examples of the yellow-gold version were ever produced, yet scarcity is only part of the reason the Anniversary has become almost mythical among collectors. The watch represents the final collaborative chapter between legendary English watchmaker George Daniels and his apprentice Roger W. Smith, widely considered the only watchmaker Daniels truly recognized as a successor to his craft.
The Anniversary was conceived to mark 35 years since Daniels invented the co-axial escapement, a breakthrough that fundamentally changed mechanical watchmaking by reducing friction inside the movement. The innovation became so significant that Omega later commercialized it across its modern watch lineup, turning Daniels from a respected independent craftsman into one of the defining horological figures of the modern era.
What separates the Anniversary from many other elite independent watches is the movement itself. Earlier Daniels production pieces relied on modified Swiss calibers, but the Anniversary was built around a newly created English movement developed specifically for the project. That distinction matters enormously in collector culture because it makes the watch feel closer to Daniels’ ideal vision of handcrafted English watchmaking rather than an adaptation of existing Swiss engineering.
The design is equally steeped in Daniels’ personal aesthetic language. The 40 mm yellow-gold case carries a rounded stepped bezel that feels restrained and almost old-world in character, while the dial features hand engine-turned guilloché patterns, engraved chapter rings, Roman numerals, and an asymmetrical layout that gives the watch a distinctly intellectual personality. Instead of relying on aggressive size or excessive complications, the Anniversary projects confidence through proportion, craftsmanship, and historical depth.
Its appeal lies less in spectacle and more in what it communicates to people who understand watchmaking at the highest level. In a room filled with diamond-set sports watches and attention-seeking luxury pieces, Zuckerberg’s choice stood apart precisely because most people would never recognize it. Among serious collectors, however, the George Daniels Anniversary functions almost like a password into a rarified corner of horology where technical innovation, handmade craftsmanship, and historical importance matter more than celebrity visibility.
The timing of the project also gives the watch unusual emotional weight. Daniels died in 2011 before the series was fully completed, leaving Roger Smith to finish much of the work himself on the Isle of Man. As a result, every Anniversary exists not only as a mechanical object but also as a bridge between master and apprentice, preserving one of the last great traditions of English independent watchmaking in wearable form.