Philippe Dufour

A legend in watchmaking was born in 1948 in Le Sentier, the Vallée de Joux. Philippe Dufour, the son of two passionate watchmakers, began nurturing his talent for mechanical watchmaking at the young age of 15. Instead of pursuing in academics, he chose the path of watchmaking and graduated from the Ecole d’Horlogerie de la Vallée de Joux. He began his career at prestigious watch brands such as Jaeger-Lecoultre and Audemars Piguet, but had a bigger vision in mind.

In 1992, Philippe Dufour shocked the world with his Grande Sonnerie - one of the most challenging watchmaking complications to make and the first of said complication to appear on the wrist. He went on to produce only two other models, the Duality which debuted at Baselworld 1996 and the Simplicity which was released in 2000.

The Simplicity was created in response to demand from Dufour's devoted Japanese following. While it may appear minimalistic, this timepiece is renowned for its exceptional quality with each component hand-finished to perfection. The watch exemplifies Philippe Dufour’s attention to detail and dedication to traditional watchmaking. From its guilloché pattern, dauphine hands to its elegant lines, one would be amazed by the perfection brought out in this time-only wristwatch. The entire watch, from the bridges to the screws to the movement and to the case, was handmade using the most traditional watchmaking tools. Dufour even went as far as collecting wood from plants near his workshop for the final stages of polishing. 

Produced from 2000 onwards, only a few examples of the Simplicity were produced each year. The watch was offered in either 34 mm or 37 mm, and the present watch is the 34 mm version cased in pink gold with a silvered dial. It has an early case number of 14 and is preserved in excellent condition, complete with box and certificate. A very rare opportunity to be offered to the public market, the present Simplicity is an extravagant presentation of the master watchmaker’s precision, patience, and craftsmanship.

1948年，一位傳奇製錶師誕生于瑞士勒桑提埃汝山谷。Philippe Dufour，兩位熱情製錶師之子在15歲時就開始培養自己在機械製錶方面的天賦，並選擇了製錶的道路。畢業於汝山谷鐘錶學院後，他的職業生涯始於積家和愛彼等知名手錶品牌，但Dufour大師對製錶抱有更遠大的願景。

1992年，Dufour大師以他的Grande Sonnerie 震驚了業界，這是最具挑戰性的製錶複雜功能之一，也是該功能首次出現在腕錶上的典範。Dufour 大師接著只生產了另外兩枚款式，1996年在巴塞爾世界博覽會上首次亮相的Duality和2000年發佈的Simplicity。

Simplicity應日本的熱情收藏家而打造，看起來雖然極簡，但此錶卻以全人手製及堪稱完美的打磨技術而聞名。這款腕錶體現了 Dufour 大師對細節的要求和對傳統製錶工藝的獻身精神，從他的璣鏤工藝錶盤，指針到優雅的錶殼線條，每一個細節都展現出這枚三針腕錶的完美之處。從橋板、螺絲、機芯到錶殼，均採用最傳統的製錶工具手工製作。Dufour 大師甚至從他工作室附近的植物上收集木材，用於最後階段的拋光。

自2000年開始生產，Simplicity每年產量僅僅數枚，以34毫米或37毫米尺寸打造。本場拍賣的34毫米粉金錶款具備銀色錶盤，編號為非常早期的14，品相出眾，並附帶證書和盒子。代表了Dufour大師的技藝、耐性及精密度的極致表現，蘇富比有幸為拍場帶來這款精美絕倫的匠心傑作。