Last night saw the Phillips’ and Blackbird thematic auction Retrospective: 2000 – 2020 play out, with some truly incredible watches reaching truly incredible prices. Two that I wanted to focus on were a pair of watches that are at the same time very similar and very different. Both are handmade. Both are three-handed dress watches in precious metal. Both could be argued as examples of the finest watchmaking from their respective countries. However one is from Switzerland, and the other is from Japan. I am of course talking about the Philippe Dufour Simplicity 20th Anniversary No. 00/20 and the Seiko Credor Eichi II in platinum. Despite being produced on different sides of the globe, both of these watches have a story that is more intertwined than you might expect. It is well documented that Mr. Dufour himself was a teacher to the master watchmakers at the Micro Artist Studio at Seiko’s factory in Shiojiri. Specifically sharing his knowledge of movement decoration and how to make watches that would have longer lives on the wrists of their owners. In this sense, it is a story that is already set up with Philippe Dufour as the master, and the watchmakers of the Micro Artist…
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