A Phillipe Dufour Wristwatch Went For Over US$600K
Let me begin by saying that i am very happy to see this do well at auction. a lot of pricey pateks were amongst the highest hammered lots but this work is somethin special. Dufour is a master watchmaker who has made significant pieces and has introduced possibly the finest movement finishing in watches. he is a living watchmaking legend and it makes me happy to see that this perception is shared by the excessively wealthy.
Sotheby's Hong Kong 04 Apr 2012 (11am)... Important Watches
LOT 2311 ESTIMATE 2,200,000-3,200,000 HKD ~ Lot Sold: HK$4.82 million / US$617,949
PHILIPPEﾠ DUFOUR ~ ANﾠ EXTRAORDINARY,ﾠ IMPORTANTﾠ ANDﾠ UNIQUEﾠ PINKﾠ GOLDﾠ TWO-TRAINﾠ MINUTEﾠ REPEATINGﾠ GRANDEﾠ ANDﾠ PETITEﾠ SONNERIEﾠ WRISTWATCHﾠ WITHﾠ HINGEDﾠ CASEﾠ ANDﾠ ENAMELﾠ DIAL. CIRCAﾠ1992ﾠ
NO 3 cal.ﾠ 12ﾠ threeﾠ quarterﾠ plateﾠ nickelﾠ two-trainﾠ leverﾠ movementﾠ woundﾠ byﾠ turningﾠ theﾠ crownﾠ toﾠ eitherﾠ side,ﾠ 35ﾠ jewels,ﾠ minuteﾠ repeatingﾠ andﾠ grandeﾠ andﾠ petiteﾠ sonnerieﾠ strikingﾠ onﾠ twoﾠ polishedﾠ steelﾠ hammersﾠ •ﾠ whiteﾠ enamelﾠ dialﾠ withﾠ Romanﾠ numerals,ﾠ bluedﾠ steelﾠ moon-styleﾠ hands,ﾠ subsidiaryﾠ dialﾠ forﾠ constantﾠ secondsﾠ •ﾠ 18kﾠ pinkﾠ goldﾠ circularﾠ case,ﾠ downturnedﾠ lugs,ﾠ twoﾠ slidesﾠ forﾠ "hours/quarters"ﾠ andﾠ "silence/strike"ﾠ inﾠ theﾠ band,ﾠ minuteﾠ repeatingﾠ functionﾠ activatedﾠ byﾠ depressingﾠ aﾠ buttonﾠ inﾠ theﾠ crown,ﾠ glazedﾠ dustﾠ cover,ﾠ hingedﾠ backﾠ •ﾠ case,ﾠ dialﾠ andﾠ movementﾠ signedﾠ •ﾠ withﾠ anﾠ 18kﾠ pinkﾠ goldﾠ buckle. diameterﾠ 41ﾠ mm
Sotheby's text: "Philippe Dufour is one of the most respected master watchmakers working in the industry today. Born in the Vallée de Joux, he attended the Sentier technical school at the age of 15 and pursued watchmaking in 1967. Dufour was employed by world renowned watchmaking manufactures such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet and Gerald Genta. In 1989 however, he decided to produce watches under his own name. Dufour joined the prestigious ranks of the AHCI (Académie des horlogers et créateurs indépendants / Horological Academy of Independent Creators) in 1992 after three years working on his masterwork – the world's first grande and petite sonnerie minute repeating wristwatch.
The present lot is a unique Philippe Dufour masterpiece, superbly crafted in 18k pink gold and fitted with an elegant white enamel dial, one of four pieces ever made and the only one in this precious metal. This impressive timepiece debuted at the 1992 Basel Fair and stunned the watch industry premiering as the first ever grande and petite sonnerie minute repeating wristwatch produced by any maker. This Philippe Dufour timepiece makes its auction debut and
presents a unique collecting opportunity for truly dedicated connoisseurs of independent horology.
The hinged case back opens pleasingly to reveal an exquisitely finished and intricate two-train movement. The highly polished bevelled edges and curved bridges of the movement guide the admirer through an impeccable and sophisticated canvas of horological art. Through a button in the crown, the trip repeat mechanism is activated and the two sliding levers in the case band adjust the grande and petite sonnerie mode from striking to silent, and hour striking
to hour and quarter striking."
The other pieces that caught my eye... a tourby i love and a simple time only watch that is simply gorgeous... i need to start saving again ;)
2 comments:
Nice to see Mr. Dufour's pieces fetching the prices they deserve. As for the VC 1921 American, one of my favourite VCs, but the price is a bit on the high side for what it is.
the 1921 is overpriced for a time only watch... if it was less than S$25k i would buy it immediately but at list of 40k without any complications... i don't think so...
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