Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces
Geneva, Mar 27, 2011
LOT 400
IWC Il Destriero Scafusia IWC, (International Watch Co.), Schaffhausen, \"Il Destriero Scafusia\", No. 87/125, movement No. 2500107, case No. 2537095. 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, 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 deployant clasp. Accompanied by a wooden marquetry fitted box, guarantee and booklets.
CHF 120,000 - 160,000
USD 120,000 - 160,000 / EUR 90,000 - 125,000
Sold: CHF 146,500
C. Three-body, solid, polished, curved lugs, transparent case back with 6 screws and peripheral engraving, onyx-set winding crown, sapphire crystals. D. Matte silver with painted radial black 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. The Property of a German Collector
| Grading System | |
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Grade: |
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Case: 1 |
As new |
Movement: 1* |
As new Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 1-01 |
As new HANDS Original |
Notes
The "Destriero Scafusia" was developed for the 125th anniversary of the International Watch Co. 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 P.M. The Cal. 1868 contains no fewer than 750 parts, individually manufactured, hand-finished and adjusted, 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 which protects the movement from moisture and dust, a problem associated with less sophisticated slides. The tourbillon mechanism alone has almost 100 tiny parts, 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.
I.W.C.
American-born Florentine Ariosto Jones began manufacturing high-quality movements and parts for the American market in the 1870s, using American technology and skilled Swiss labor. However, the workers in Geneva and the remote Jura mountain valleys resisted the plans of this "intruder", until Jones teamed up with Johann Heinrich Moser from Schaffhausen, who had built a hydrostation in Schaffhausen powered by water from the Rhine. In 1868, Jones created the International Watch Company in Schaffhausen. The first watches 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" (solid craftsmanship from Schaffhausen) - remained unchanged.