Philippe Dufour Grande & Petite Sonnerie Grande & Petite Sonnerie | Grail Atlas
Philippe Dufour
Grande & Petite Sonnerie
Ref. Grande & Petite Sonnerie
1992–2016 · 41mm · caliber Philippe Dufour in-house, manual-wind -- two independent gear trains (timekeeping and striking), each with its own barrel, wound in opposite directions from the crown; free-sprung, adjustable-mass balance; grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, and an on-demand minute repeater activated by a button in the crown; 35 jewels; entirely hand-made and hand-finished by Dufour, each watch taking close to two years to complete; only 8 examples made
From 1999, Dufour also made a small number with a clear sapphire dial exposing the full striking mechanism instead of the grand feu enamel dial -- four examples of this variant are known, in white and rose gold.
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Movement tier: unclassified · caliber Philippe Dufour in-house, manual-wind -- two independent gear trains (timekeeping and striking), each with its own barrel, wound in opposite directions from the crown; free-sprung, adjustable-mass balance; grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie, and an on-demand minute repeater activated by a button in the crown; 35 jewels; entirely hand-made and hand-finished by Dufour, each watch taking close to two years to complete; only 8 examples made
Medium-large: suits wrists 6.5 in+ (16.5 cm+)
41 mm case. Wears confidently on average to larger wrists. May overhang on slender builds.
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The Grande & Petite Sonnerie is Philippe Dufour's first wristwatch and his most complicated work -- only 8 examples exist. This is an institutional-level acquisition; authentication is a matter for the handful of specialists who have handled one, not a checklist a buyer can run alone.
Known issues in the market
With only 8 examples known (four with grand feu enamel dial, four with an openwork sapphire dial), any claimed example must have a clear, documented ownership and auction/dealer history -- there is no "unknown example" that plausibly surfaces without provenance.
The watch predates widespread internet sales by decades; expect thick supporting documentation (certificate of origin, international guarantee, original box) with any legitimate example.
Because each watch took close to two years to hand-make, no two examples are identical in finishing detail; small differences between examples are normal, not a red flag on their own.
Area
What to check
What is correct
Red flag
movement
Twin gear-train, twin-barrel construction
Two separate barrels, one for the timekeeping train and one for the striking train, each wound in a different direction from the crown; both barrels carry the grande-sonnerie-style winding click (a serrated ratchet with hooked springs)
A single-barrel movement, or a movement where both directions of crown rotation wind the same train
Two hand-engraved sliding selectors hidden under the hinged case band control sonnerie mode (Grande Sonnerie, Petite Sonnerie, Silent, Strike); the minute repeater is activated on demand by a button set into the crown
Missing or non-functional slide selectors; a repeater activated by a case-side slide rather than a crown-set button
movement
Hand-finishing quality matching the Simplicity/Duality standard
Anglage, perlage, and Geneva striping finished to the same extraordinary level as Dufour's other work; hand engraving (visibly slightly irregular where done with a manually operated pantograph) on the strike-train bridge
Any surface finish that reads as machine-produced or merely "very good" rather than exceptional; laser-engraved rather than hand-engraved text
case
Hinged hunter case construction
18k gold or platinum case with a hinged case back that snaps shut over a press-fit sapphire display back; slightly tapered lugs that were hand-soldered; 41mm diameter across all known examples
A snap-on or screw-down case back instead of a hinged hunter back; case dimensions inconsistent with the known 41mm diameter
dial
Grand feu enamel dial (enamel-dial examples)
Glossy, bright white fired enamel in two parts (main dial and recessed sub-dial), with Roman numerals and Breguet hands; typography matches vintage pocket-watch convention, including the seconds-register numerals
A printed or applied-decal dial presented as fired enamel; flat appearance under magnification where enamel should show depth
Common legitimate replacements
No standard replacement parts exist; any modification, repair, or replaced component should be fully documented by the seller or a specialist.
Expert resources: This is not a watch to authenticate independently. Full auction house authentication (Phillips, Christie's, Sotheby's) is required for any transaction; Phillips in particular has handled multiple documented sales, including movement No. 1 (2021) and the unique open-dial No. 07 (2024), and its specialists have direct handling experience with the reference.
