Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie No. 3 Sells for $7.63 Million!
Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie No. 3
On Monday there was some fairly big news in the watch industry. The most expensive independent timepiece ever sold, a Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie number 3, sold for $7.63 million! An extremely high number especially for a watch that sold for a fraction of that originally…but that is the nature of Philippe Dufour…
Dufour only ever made 8 timepieces in his Grande et Petite Sonnerie series, this particular model being made for the Sultan of Brunei in 1995 (more weight to my hope of 1990s watches being the next great thing) and sold by A Collected Man to an unknown buyer…
Now, what’s so special about this timepiece? Well, apart from being made in such limited quantities for the Sultan of Brunei, the watch was also hand-made by Philippe Dufour. Dufour is a famed Swiss watchmaker, known for his master workmanship and high precision timepieces. This was among his first works when he launched his brand in the early 1990s, after a long career in watchmaking.
While a spectacular result for A Collected Man, this is certainly not the last time we will hear of Philippe Dufours (or other popular independent brands like F.P. Journe) being sold for incredible amounts.
What’s For Sale Next Week in Hong Kong?
Audemars Piguet x Black Panther limited edition watch
Christie’s has an interesting sale coming up on Tuesday, August 24th in Hong Kong. An online watch sale, with the leading lot being the first Audemars Piguet Marvel Limited Edition Royal Oak Concept Black Panther to appear in auction. Let’s be honest that does not sound very promising, through all the memes of this timepiece I have yet to see someone who was not a professional athlete interested in it…Nonetheless, I am sure the sale will not disappoint.
Rolex ‘Padellone’ ref. 8171 in pink gold / Credit: Monaco Legend Auctions
The rest of the auction includes the typical brands: Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Rolex – although there are some interesting, jeweled women’s watches from Chopard and Piaget, and a very intriguing green Gérald Genta with jumping hour and retrograde minutes. My personal favourite: the Rolex ‘Padellone’ ref. 8171 in pink gold! ‘Padellone’ means ‘big frying pan’ in Italian, and the 8171 got this nickname due to its larger size and circular shape. It remains a very sought-after vintage Rolex as it was produced only between 1949 and 1952.
Tune in next week for more of our new Auction Report!
By: Andres Ibarguen