There are watch brands and there are watchmakers, many of which we
see in the media every day. While some watch companies’ annual
sales number in the thousands though, other watchmakers produce only
a handful of watches, and their dedication to perfection endears them
to an equally small group of connoisseurs.
Philippe Dufour falls into this category. A “watchmaker’s
watchmaker”, he isolates himself in his native valley de Joux
Switzerland, and is perfectly happy making only 25 watches every year,
albeit 25 superlative ones.
Whether it’s his technical masterpieces
like the Duality and the Grande and Petite Sonnerie, or his aptly named
Simplicity, Dufour’s watches are renowned for their perfectly
finished movements, and are horological pieces of art in the truest
sense.
Here, we pay tribute to one of Dufour’s
sold-out classics, the Simplicity, which sets the standard for watch
movement finishing everywhere.
