Private Air New York

www.privateairny.com Private Air New York | Winter 2014/2015 49 WATCHES A s Dufour has refused watch orders for a long time now, we seem hardly to hear such questions as: "Have you heard of Philippe Dufour's Simplicity watch?" However, if you had been able to speak about Dufour's skills before, you would have been regarded as having knowledge about watches. Had you placed an order for one of these watches, but explained to friends that, " Who knows how long I have to wait to get the watch," you would be highly respected immediately for having the opportunity to have a watch made by Philippe Dufour. Philippe Dufour is the legend of independent watchmakers. He introduced and added powerful and complex functions for other watch brands in his earlier years, and became Master under his own name for developing such watches as Grand & Petite Sonnerie Minute Repeater, and Duality with double escapement that caused such a sensation throughout the watch industry. Master Philippe Dufour is renowned not only for his superb craftsmanship, but also for his unique personality. He has often spoken bluntly that, "e Swiss watch brands stand still and refuse to make progress. ey will sooner or later be surpassed by Japan and even China in the future." Dufour is definitely the mirror of the watch industry and after creating many watches with advanced and complex functions he launched Simplicity, his latest watch creation in 2000. Like its name – Simplicity has only three pointers. However, its movement is impeccably beautiful – it is the kind of watch that returns to what is the essence of watchmaking. Along with the launch of Simplicity, Dufour announced that he would only make this kind of watch and would not make any more after finishing the current orders, thus making Simplicity so highly valued by its owners. ere is much to the story of Philippe Dufour but it is his skill and history as a watchmaker that gives him the charm and is the reason many people recognize him as the representative master of the independent luxury watch making milieu. Most ordinary and luxury watches tend to be uniformly identified and worn by the same group of people as a status symbol; this fact makes the wearing of watches somewhat monotonous and boring. Watches made by independent watchmakers in smaller quantities, in a more unique and bespoke way, are harder to find and worn by a select few – they become much more rare than the ordinary and standard luxury timepieces. It is a true statement that the more interesting watches are made in smaller numbers and by independent watchmakers. THE BEAUTY & COMPLEXITY OF INDEPENDENT WATCHMAKING Text By: Kyo Y Soo Photography Provided By: Christophe Claret • Laurent Ferrier • MB&F • Philippe Dufour TheMan TheHour of Philippe Dufour

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