Christie’s in Hong Kong just sold the first Philippe Dufour Simplicity to appear at auction for a staggering HK$1.98m, equivalent to US$256,395. The auctioneer’s head of watches in Geneva, Thomas Perazzi, brought the hammer down on the Simplicity after just a few minutes of bidding, with the winner being Christie’s specialist Nicholas Biebuyck on behalf of […]
The short documentary film ‘Time Piece’ features two of the world’s best living watchmakers, Philippe Dufour and Vianney Halter, and provides insight into what makes the watches by these masters so special.
A masterpiece of modern watchmaking, with just 200 made – though a couple of extras have emerged in recent years – the Philippe Dufour Simplicity has never come to market at an international watch auction, until now. Not one, but a pair, of Simplicity wristwatches will go under the hammers at Phillips’ The Hong Kong Watch Auction: Three at […]
Some meals are memorable for the food, some for the company, and some for a watch at the table. And then there are those meals that hit the ball right out of the park by getting top marks in all three. Make up any story you like to explain how a very contemporary De Bethune DB28 and a very traditional Philippe Dufour Simplicity came to be sharing a bowl of molten cheese in the Swiss Jura mountains.
I love independent watchmaking and independent watchmakers; one of my great joys as a collector is having the feeling that, in a small way, I am supporting their efforts.
So I put some thought into why independent watchmakers struggle in a business sense and how they can remain relevant in changing market situations.
Like many people, my starting point for serious watches was with a well-priced brand long known for its expertise in developing movements, justly viewed as offering good value for money – but not necessarily for the refinement of its movement finishing, at least on its less expensive pieces. What have I learned since then?
There are many watch designs out there: from different case designs to even varying dial patterns. Aesthetics is a realm littered with the corpses of dated designs with time’s passage, while others remain as classics. Few are the designs which remain fashionable after decades of existence, and these legends of timeless design…