Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces

Geneva, Nov 11, 2012

LOT 397

IWC IL DESTRIERO SCAFUSIA - PLATINUM IWC, (International Watch Co.), Schaffhausen, "Il Destriero Scafusia", No. 18/125, movement No. 2500051, case No. 2537047. 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, platinum wristwatch with flying one-minute tourbillon regulator, square button split-seconds chronograph, registers, secular perpetual calendar, moon phases and a platinum IWC buckle. Accompanied by a Certificate.

CHF 110,000 - 170,000

USD 120,000 - 180,000 / EUR 90,000 - 140,000

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. 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.


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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.