The Greatest Watchmaker: Philippe Dufour
Regarded as the greatest master in modern watchmaking with his three watches being recognized as some of the best ever made. With a track record of working with Jaeger LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, and Gerald Genta, Philippe Dufour is a modern master creating some of the most sought-after timepieces available today. To give an idea of how limited a Philippe Dufour watch is, you could fit every single watch he has crafted in my watch box. On a good year, Dufour produces just over a dozen watches, but his influence on the world of horology far exceeds his output, crafting some of the most technical and aesthetically-accomplished timepieces in existence (by himself an entirely by hand).
Philippe Dufour is an independent watchmaker that works out of a converted-schoolhouse in Le Solliat in the Vallée de Joux. He began watchmaking in 1967 after graduating from the Ecole d’Horlogerie de la Vallée de Joux. Soon working for Jaeger LeCoultre and launching his own brand in 1978. Before launching his own brand he was contracted by Audemars Piguet to craft 5 of his Grande and Petite Sonnerie (regarded as one of the most complex complications ever crafted) minute repeater movements for pocket watches. He began this project in 1982 and the last of the 5 contracted movements was delivered in 1988.
In 1996, Dufour introduced another one of his iconic movement designs, the Duality. The world’s first wristwatch incorporating a double escapement. “Featuring two independent balance wheels compensated with a central differential gear, the mechanism improves accuracy while also countering the effects of gravity.” Dufour originally planned to craft 25 examples of this watch, however, only 9 were made and are in existence today.
In 2000, Dufour unveiled yet another horological spectacle to the world, the Simplicity. A nod to traditional Swiss watchmaking, each Simplicity (like each of his timepieces), was handmade and assembled with near-perfect craftsmanship without the use of modern industrial tools. Over a 12-year period, he crafted roughly 200 Simplicity watches, often customized to the clients’ wishes. Dufour knew each wrist that his Simplicity would sit on. Today it is considered one of the finest mechanical time-only pieces produced. To this day, one of his Simplicity’s sits in The Espace Horloger watch museum in Switzerland. Currently, this is the only model of watch Dufour produces and has stopped taking orders as he already has enough to last the rest of his life.
In all his time in the world of watchmaking, Dufour has not spent a single dollar on marketing or advertising, even in an industry where marking muscle can forge and mold a public perception. “Dufour’s reputation is forged on the unshakable belief that a high-end Swiss watch should be made a certain way.” Dufour is an outlier and a big proponent of the artisanal values of Swiss watchmaking.
