The May lunch was attended by 33 members, by two members' guests, and by our Speaker, Roger Smith, who has mastered 32 different trades to make every component of a watch from start to finish.

Not surprisingly, Roger's talk was entitled “Watchmaking”. With the aid of a fascinating slide show Roger described the production stages undertaken at his unassuming cottage workshop in Ballaugh. Inside the workshop itself are just three rooms containing some vintage watchmaking machinery. His team of nine use hand engine – turning equipment to produce watches from scratch. Each watch can take up to a year to complete and will sell for anything from ?90,000 and up. He currently manufactures ten watches each year and there is a three year waiting list to acquire one.