After working as a one-man show alone in his quiet workshop for over a decade, earlier this year Philippe Dufour went into partnership with Lebanese jeweler/gemologist and passionate watch collector Claude Sfeir, who was a longstanding member of the jury of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) during my eight years there.

With Sfeir’s involvement, the Philippe Dufour “brand” has become a family affair with daughter Danièla – now also a watchmaker – at the bench, wife Elisabeth handling communication, and Sfeir handling the commercial aspects.

The first fruit of the partnership was the 20th Anniversary Simplicity, a limited edition of 20 pieces (plus one for the family). The 37 mm prototype No. 00  sold at auction for CHF 1,361,000. The first ten of the limited edition of 20 pieces were allocated, while the second ten future owners are being selected by a lottery as demand was so high – thousands per day as Sfeir remarks.

In this Watches TV video, Sfeir and Dufour discuss the results of the Phillips auction that took place in November 2021, which offered a full set of the four Philippe Dufour pieces, watches demonstrating the entire span of his work as an independent watchmaker: the Grande et Petite Sonnerie No. 1 pocket watch (1989), the Grande et Petite Sonnerie wristwatch (1992), the Duality (1996), and the Simplicity (2004).

These four timepieces sold for CHF 2,329,000, CHF 4,749,000, CHF 3,660,000, and CHF 756,000 respectively, including buyer’s premium. That’s a total of CHF 11,494,000, a historic moment for independent watchmaking. In this video, Dufour explains what these results mean to him personally and does get somewhat emotional.

And if you listen carefully, you might hear a hint dropped that something new could well be on the way.

For more information, please visit www.philippedufour.ch

And for more horological video by The Watches TV, visit www.watchestv.com.

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Philippe Dufour’s Daughter Danièla Makes Her First Simplicity (Plus Video)

Results Of Phillips Geneva Watch Auction: XIV’s First Full Set Of Philippe Dufour Watches: Grande Et Petite Sonneries (Wristwatch And Pocket Watch), Duality, And Simplicity

Why Philippe Dufour Matters. And It’s Not A Secret

Behind The Lens: Philippe Dufour Duality

Behind The Lens: The Philippe Dufour Simplicity