Philippe Dufour Watch Collection - Every Watch He's Been Spotted Wearing
Philippe Dufour currently has 1 watches in his collection. Check them in our database.
Introduction to Philippe Dufour
Philippe Dufour is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished independent watchmakers alive. Born in 1948 in Le Solliat, in the Swiss Vallée de Joux, he trained under some of the most demanding conditions in the industry before establishing his own atelier. He is best known for creating the Simplicity, a manually wound pocket-watch movement of extraordinary finish, and the Duality, a wristwatch featuring a twin-escapement mechanism. His work is executed almost entirely by hand, and the finishing standards he applies — mirror-polished anglage, hand-beveled bridges, and perfectly grained plates — have made him a reference point for independent horology globally. Dufour has been a significant influence on a generation of independent watchmakers and has received recognition from institutions and collectors across the industry.
Despite spending his professional life surrounded by some of the most technically complex and finely finished movements ever made, Philippe Dufour has been spotted wearing a Rolex — specifically the GMT-Master II reference 126710BLRO, known in the trade as the 'Pepsi' for its red-and-blue ceramic bezel. He was photographed at his watchmaking bench, loupe in place, working on a movement, with the watch clearly visible on his left wrist. This particular reference was introduced at Baselworld 2018 and marked a notable moment in Rolex's GMT lineage: it was the first steel GMT-Master II to be paired with the five-link Jubilee bracelet since the 16710 era, a combination that had been absent from the catalog for years and was immediately well received by collectors.
The Philippe Dufour watch collection, at least as documented through public sightings, reflects a straightforward practicality that sits in interesting contrast to his professional output. Choosing a robust, highly legible Rolex tool watch for daily wear at the bench — rather than one of the rare independent pieces that pass through his hands — says something concrete about how he separates working life from collecting. The 126710BLRO is a serious watch chosen without theater, which, coming from Dufour, carries its own weight.
Philippe Dufour Spotted Wearing Rolex GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' Reference 126710BLRO
Inserted 08/06/2023
The Rolex GMT-Master II 'Pepsi' on a Jubilee bracelet — reintroduced in 2018 after decades on oyster only — remains one of the most coveted steel sport watches in production. That it adorns the wrist of Philippe Dufour, arguably the world's greatest living independent watchmaker, is quietly poetic: a man who hand-finishes movements to a standard no manufacture matches, choosing Rolex's most reliable and recognisable travel complication as his daily wear. The sighting occurred while Dufour worked at his bench, loupe to eye, dissecting another timepiece with surgical focus.
