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Lot Essay
“This, is true simplicity” Philippe Dufour
In the firmament of contemporary independent watchmaking, Philippe Dufour’s wristwatches are without question among the very brightest stars. To own any wristwatch made by Philippe Dufour is considered an almost impossible dream. It is therefore an immense privilege to offer this unique and sensationally good looking 38mm steel ‘Simplicity’ wristwatch. The summit of desirability and quite simply one of the greatest prizes for any serious collector of independent wristwatches today, it offers collectors and also those who seek to obtain only the very finest works of art, a singular opportunity to obtain the completely unobtainable, a unique wristwatch by Philippe Dufour.
When Philippe Dufour handed over this remarkable steel ‘Simplicity’ wristwatch he placed it into the commissioning client’s hands with the unforgettable statement “This, is true simplicity”. The date, confirmed by the Certificate of Origin, was the 3rd June 2021, Philippe Dufour’s 73rd birthday. True simplicity indeed, this watch is not only staggeringly beautiful with its rich blue lacquered dial but it is also the first steel wristwatch by Philippe Dufour ever to be offered in public. In addition, the case size is an unprecedented 38 mm. rather than the standard case sizes of the Simplicity model of either 34 mm. and 37 mm. In accordance with the client’s wishes, the blue dial has no subsidiary seconds dial, the only such example known publicly.
Moreover, this special dial features matching individual applied faceted baton indexes with a double index at 12 o’clock which, together with the ‘white’ steel case, imbues the watch with a bewitching aesthetic, minimalist yet at the same time exuding the richness that only comes from the very finest workmanship and the micro-attention that has been given to even the smallest of details. The movement of the Simplicity represents the culmination Philippe Dufour’s decades long quest to create perfection in the mechanical wristwatch and must be seen to be fully appreciated. The ‘cotes de Genève’ striped finishing has an optical depth that can only be achieved by hand, equally the complex curves of the plate edges display Philippe Dufour’s mastery of anglage. Large countersunk jewels, handmade screws, the curved gold signature and ‘unique’ plaques secured by hand-blued steel screws are all carefully considered and exquisitely finished in order to delight the eye.
The present unique Simplicity is perhaps the ultimate contemporary time-only watch, a distillation of the knowledge, experience and virtuoso craftsmanship of one of the greatest living watchmakers.
PHILIPPE DUFOUR
Philippe Dufour has made only just over 230 watches during the course of his long and illustrious career. Regarded as a living legend, and without doubt one of the most revered ambassadors for the very best independent watchmaking, Philippe Dufour’s philosophy of 'no compromise, no limit' has been the guiding star of his 45-year career as an independent watchmaker. Indeed, it would perhaps be more accurate to describe Philippe Dufour’s devotion to the design and creation of wristwatches as a vocation, a natural calling to which he has devoted his life and in so doing has made an incalculable contribution to the advancement of the art and craft of high-precision watchmaking.
For Philippe Dufour, perfection is paramount, in his workshop in the village of Solliat in the Vallée de Joux, each watch is made entirely by hand, often with traditional vintage hand tools, to the most exacting standards of craftsmanship imaginable. Every watch is directly commissioned by the client and with a total output of only 15 to 18 watches per year, a Philippe Dufour wristwatch represents a complex mechanical masterpiece that presents the very definition of true luxury, its design an aesthetic holy grail of simplicity.
Born in Switzerland in 1948, Philippe Dufour graduated from the Ecole d’Horlogerie de la Vallée de Joux in 1967 and in the same year was employed by Jaeger-LeCoultre. However, his personal horological journey followed in the footsteps of several of the great modern watchmaking geniuses including George Daniels and François Paul Journe, by the repair and restoration of antique pocket watches. Such was his reputation for excellence that in 1982, Philippe Dufour was commissioned by Audemars Piguet to create five Grande Sonnerie pocket watch movements, the last of which was delivered in 1988.
A year later, using his mastery of the Grande Sonnerie complication, Philippe Dufour began the wristwatch that was to be a pivotal moment in the recognition of his supreme watchmaking talent and in the establishment of the Philippe Dufour brand. This seminal wristwatch was the first in the world to be successfully fitted with a Grande and Petite Sonnerie minute repeater movement, one of the most challenging of all watch complications for a watchmaker to construct and, within the confined space of a wristwatch case, quite unprecedented. Borne of the desire to create something that had never been achieved before, after two and a half years in the making, the Grande Sonnerie was presented at Baselworld in 1992.
Following the success of that extraordinary world's first, Philippe Dufour developed and made yet another. His next wristwatch model, christened ‘Duality’ was launched in 1996 and was the first wristwatch to have a double escapement. The movement is constructed with two balance wheels compensated with a central differential gear, a system based on the principle that the differential averages out the errors between the two escapements and reduces potential errors by half. Only nine examples of ‘Duality’ were ever made. At Baselworld in 2000, Philippe Dufour introduced the model that is perhaps best known to collectors,
‘Simplicity’. A distillation of Mr. Dufour’s endless quest for perfection, the model was originally created to satisfy the high demand for his watches in Japan, it is the only current production model. Around 200 have so far been made in either gold or platinum and it is in such demand that no more orders can be fulfilled.
Philippe Dufour was unanimously awarded the 2013 Special Jury Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Following this exceptional honour, he was invited to become one of the members of the Jury where his decades of experience at the very highest levels of watchmaking make his contribution invaluable.
In the firmament of contemporary independent watchmaking, Philippe Dufour’s wristwatches are without question among the very brightest stars. To own any wristwatch made by Philippe Dufour is considered an almost impossible dream. It is therefore an immense privilege to offer this unique and sensationally good looking 38mm steel ‘Simplicity’ wristwatch. The summit of desirability and quite simply one of the greatest prizes for any serious collector of independent wristwatches today, it offers collectors and also those who seek to obtain only the very finest works of art, a singular opportunity to obtain the completely unobtainable, a unique wristwatch by Philippe Dufour.
When Philippe Dufour handed over this remarkable steel ‘Simplicity’ wristwatch he placed it into the commissioning client’s hands with the unforgettable statement “This, is true simplicity”. The date, confirmed by the Certificate of Origin, was the 3rd June 2021, Philippe Dufour’s 73rd birthday. True simplicity indeed, this watch is not only staggeringly beautiful with its rich blue lacquered dial but it is also the first steel wristwatch by Philippe Dufour ever to be offered in public. In addition, the case size is an unprecedented 38 mm. rather than the standard case sizes of the Simplicity model of either 34 mm. and 37 mm. In accordance with the client’s wishes, the blue dial has no subsidiary seconds dial, the only such example known publicly.
Moreover, this special dial features matching individual applied faceted baton indexes with a double index at 12 o’clock which, together with the ‘white’ steel case, imbues the watch with a bewitching aesthetic, minimalist yet at the same time exuding the richness that only comes from the very finest workmanship and the micro-attention that has been given to even the smallest of details. The movement of the Simplicity represents the culmination Philippe Dufour’s decades long quest to create perfection in the mechanical wristwatch and must be seen to be fully appreciated. The ‘cotes de Genève’ striped finishing has an optical depth that can only be achieved by hand, equally the complex curves of the plate edges display Philippe Dufour’s mastery of anglage. Large countersunk jewels, handmade screws, the curved gold signature and ‘unique’ plaques secured by hand-blued steel screws are all carefully considered and exquisitely finished in order to delight the eye.
The present unique Simplicity is perhaps the ultimate contemporary time-only watch, a distillation of the knowledge, experience and virtuoso craftsmanship of one of the greatest living watchmakers.
PHILIPPE DUFOUR
Philippe Dufour has made only just over 230 watches during the course of his long and illustrious career. Regarded as a living legend, and without doubt one of the most revered ambassadors for the very best independent watchmaking, Philippe Dufour’s philosophy of 'no compromise, no limit' has been the guiding star of his 45-year career as an independent watchmaker. Indeed, it would perhaps be more accurate to describe Philippe Dufour’s devotion to the design and creation of wristwatches as a vocation, a natural calling to which he has devoted his life and in so doing has made an incalculable contribution to the advancement of the art and craft of high-precision watchmaking.
For Philippe Dufour, perfection is paramount, in his workshop in the village of Solliat in the Vallée de Joux, each watch is made entirely by hand, often with traditional vintage hand tools, to the most exacting standards of craftsmanship imaginable. Every watch is directly commissioned by the client and with a total output of only 15 to 18 watches per year, a Philippe Dufour wristwatch represents a complex mechanical masterpiece that presents the very definition of true luxury, its design an aesthetic holy grail of simplicity.
Born in Switzerland in 1948, Philippe Dufour graduated from the Ecole d’Horlogerie de la Vallée de Joux in 1967 and in the same year was employed by Jaeger-LeCoultre. However, his personal horological journey followed in the footsteps of several of the great modern watchmaking geniuses including George Daniels and François Paul Journe, by the repair and restoration of antique pocket watches. Such was his reputation for excellence that in 1982, Philippe Dufour was commissioned by Audemars Piguet to create five Grande Sonnerie pocket watch movements, the last of which was delivered in 1988.
A year later, using his mastery of the Grande Sonnerie complication, Philippe Dufour began the wristwatch that was to be a pivotal moment in the recognition of his supreme watchmaking talent and in the establishment of the Philippe Dufour brand. This seminal wristwatch was the first in the world to be successfully fitted with a Grande and Petite Sonnerie minute repeater movement, one of the most challenging of all watch complications for a watchmaker to construct and, within the confined space of a wristwatch case, quite unprecedented. Borne of the desire to create something that had never been achieved before, after two and a half years in the making, the Grande Sonnerie was presented at Baselworld in 1992.
Following the success of that extraordinary world's first, Philippe Dufour developed and made yet another. His next wristwatch model, christened ‘Duality’ was launched in 1996 and was the first wristwatch to have a double escapement. The movement is constructed with two balance wheels compensated with a central differential gear, a system based on the principle that the differential averages out the errors between the two escapements and reduces potential errors by half. Only nine examples of ‘Duality’ were ever made. At Baselworld in 2000, Philippe Dufour introduced the model that is perhaps best known to collectors,
‘Simplicity’. A distillation of Mr. Dufour’s endless quest for perfection, the model was originally created to satisfy the high demand for his watches in Japan, it is the only current production model. Around 200 have so far been made in either gold or platinum and it is in such demand that no more orders can be fulfilled.
Philippe Dufour was unanimously awarded the 2013 Special Jury Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Following this exceptional honour, he was invited to become one of the members of the Jury where his decades of experience at the very highest levels of watchmaking make his contribution invaluable.