Important Collectors Watches, Pocket ...

Geneva, Mar 29, 2009

LOT 434

Il Destriero Scafusia IWC (International Watch Co.), Schaffhausen, "Il Destriero Scafusia", No. 20/125, movement No. 2500046, case No. 2537055. Made in a limited edition of 125 examples. Production of this reference began in 1993, ended in 1999. Extremely fine and important, large, heavy, minute-repeating, astronomic, 18K yellow gold wristwatch with flying one-minute tourbillon regulator, square button split-seconds chronograph, registers, secular perpetual calendar, moon phases and an 18K yellow gold IWC bracelet with concealed double deployant clasp. Accompanied by a wooden marquetry fitted box and guarantee, user's manual and presentation book.

CHF 160,000 - 200,000

USD 140,000 - 170,000 / EUR 110,000 - 135,000

Sold: CHF 168,000

C. Three-body, solid, polished, curved lugs, transparent case back with 6 screws and peripheral engraving, onyxset winding crown, sapphire crystals. D. Satiné silver with painted radial Roman numerals, sunk subsidiary dials for the seconds, the 12-hour and 30-minute registers, the date, days of the week, the months, apertures for the moon phases and the 4-digit year. Blued steel feuille hands. M. Cal. 1868, 16???, hand-engraved, gold-plated brass, fleur de lys decoration, 76 jewels, lateral lever escapement with one-minute flying tourbillon regulator with antimagnetic titanium cage and 3 equidistant arms, monometallic balance adjusted to heat, cold, and 6 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, repeating on gongs by activating slide on the band. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 42 mm. Thickness 17 mm. Approx. overall length 200 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 2*

Very good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

Il Destriero Scafusia A true work of art, the "Destriero" was especially developed to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the International Watch Co. in Schaffhausen in 1993. Made in a limited edition of 125 examples in yellow gold, rose gold and platinum, the last watch was finished on Dec. 31, 1999 at 11:59:59 PM. The Cal. 1868 contains no fewer than 750 parts, individually manufactured, hand-finished and adjusted, in order to ensure minimal friction and the harmonious interaction of its 21 complex functions and displays. Like the "Da Vinci", it is a secular perpetual calendar watch with a four-digit display for the year, an IWC exclusive. IWC also holds a patent on the minute-repeater slide mechanism, built to protect the movement from moisture and dust, a problem sometimes associated with less sophisticated slides. For the tourbillon mechanism alone, almost 100 tiny parts had to be made, of a total weight of merely 0.296 grams. The innovative use of non-magnetic and lightweight titanium for the cage ensures an unrivaled standard of accuracy. A true masterpiece, the "Destriero" is assembled and regulated with utmost care, as one would expect from this reputable maker.
I.W.C. In the 1870s, American-born Florentine Ariosto Jones, director of E. Howard & Co. in Boston, began to manufacture high-quality movements and watch parts for the American market using American technology and skilled labor from Switzerland. However, the skilled workers in the Geneva region and in the remote valleys of the Jura mountains resisted the plans of a man they considered an intruder, until Jones teamed up with Johann Heinrich Moser from Schaffhausen. Moser had built a hydrostation in Schaffhausen powered by water from the Rhine, which generated low-cost energy. In 1868, Jones created the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen. The first pocket watches produced with the Jones caliber had many advanced technical features. A year after its foundation, the "American" watch factory passed into Swiss hands, but its philosophy - "Probus Scafusia" (good, solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen) - has remained unchanged.