Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces

Hong Kong, Jun 23, 2012

LOT 163

IWC IL DESTRIERO SCAFUSIA PLATINUM BRACELET IWC, (International Watch Co.), Schaffhausen, "Il Destriero Scafusia", No. 58/125, movement No. 2500069, case No. 2537079. Made circa 1997. Production of this reference began in 1993 and ended in 1999 with a total of 125 examples made. Extremely fine, rare and important, large, heavy, minute repeating, platinum wristwatch with flying one-minute tourbillon regulator, square button split-seconds chronograph, registers, secular perpetual calendar, moon phases with IWC Platinum heavy bracelet. Accompanied by a numbered wooden marquetry fitted box, certificate, extra strap, IWC Platinum buckle and IWC 125th anniversary book.

HKD 1,400,000 - 1,700,000

USD 180,000 - 220,000 / EUR 135,000 - 165,000

Sold: HKD 1,400,000

C. Three-body, solid, polished, curved lugs, transparent case back with 6 screws and peripheral engraving, onyx-set winding crown, sapphire crystals. D. Two-tone midnight blue with painted radial silver 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. White gold feuille hands. M. Cal. 1868, 16???, hand-engraved, gold-plated brass, fl eur-de-lys decoration, 76 jewels, lateral lever escapement with one-minute fl ying 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 180 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2-8

Very good

Slightly scratched
Movement: 1*

As new

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

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

Destriero Scafusia 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 fi nished on Dec. 31, 1999 at 11:59:59 P.M. The Cal. 1868 contains no fewer than 750 parts, individually manufactured, hand-fi nished 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 fi rst 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.