Christies in Hong Kong -- who typically make it almost impossible to link to the auction -- have a Simplicty up for sale on Nov 28. Lot 2843 at $110,000 $180,000. Seems like a bargain Apologies for the crappy screen grab
Well, now I have something to put on my Christmas list. You should all chip in and pick it up for me. After all, youze guyz thought it would be funny to pitch in a send me husky strippergrams: https://omegaforums.net/threads/ding-dong-aka-incoming.47537/#post-566526
They have come up for sale before - I recall seeing 2 for sale on Purists not long after the financial crisis hit. This may be the first to go to auction though. Being #61, this is from the first lot of 100 made, so I believe would have been 50,000 CHF when purchased, as I think the second series were bumped to 75,000. So I guess not a bad return... I have a friend who passed on an allocation - he has big regrets over that!
And many people still believe that the only modern watch capable of retaining value is a Rol....sorry can't bring myself to say the brand in a Dufour thread...
Well, not having a stab at anyone, but saying a Dufour is a bargain and showing a rare vintage PP for comparison is sort of missing the point of the Dufour. While both are collectible, they are so for very different reasons. One is, for the time it was produced, a very complicated watch that was made in a rare case material for this maker, with only a few examples made. The Simplicity is not about rare materials and complications, but about...simplicity. It's about making a very simple watch, and making it as perfectly as it can possibly be made. While the finish on the PP is admirable, the Simplicity is on an entirely different level. I've been through Patek's factory in the Plan-les-Ouates area of Geneva - it's a large corporate factory that makes widgets that happen to be watches. I know this isn't the location where this particular PP was made, but the idea here is that even though PP doesn't make a lot of watches compared to the mid-level brands, they are still a mass producer of watches on an industrial scale. I've also been in Mr. Dufour's atelier, and it's a small shop with various machines, where a very few watchmakers (sometimes just the man himself) toil over parts at length, finishing them by hand. For example, I shot this video of one watchmaker there polishing countersinks: The kind of work that goes on in this shop is what the marketers of all the Swiss brands who produce watches using highly automated processes want you to believe goes into their watches. Very few places actually make watches like this. No shortcut methods are used, and no corners are cut. To me, there's just no comparison. Cheers, Al
Totally agree with @Archer. The singularity of Philippe Dufour is making watches by 100% hands (or hand drived machines). I am in the Lycée Diderot (Paris, France) where Mr Boulanger teach. Mr Boulanger had been chosen by P. Dufour, R. Greubel and S. Forsey, tp participate to the project "Naissance d'une Montre" with purpose of transmission of the knowledge of traditional watchmaking : http://www.legardetemps-nm.org (sorry it is in French). Anyway, Mr Boulanger relate how P. Dufour is demanding regarding quality in every part of the watch (=> decoration as well and even an invisible screw!). He does the same to every watch he makes. Just amazing to think a complete watch is made by hands of a single man! The PP is a real beauty no doubt on it, but the P. Dufour is just a watch made by one of the current greatest watchmaker.