A “watchmaker’s watchmaker”, Andreas Strehler is a name whispered with reverence and awe within the circles of horological conoisseurs. Part watchmaker, mathematician, philosopher and astronomer he is a brilliant movement constructor and designer who has worked with some of the world’s greatest brands to create unique complicated movements, his motto being “It’s complicated to be simple”.

After having worked at Renaud & Papi, Strehler set out on his own in 1995 as an independent watchmaker and 3 years later presented his first timepiece and has ever since continued creating complicated movements for others and under his own name. The Papillon d’Or (French for gold butterfly) takes its name from the golden bridges shaped like a butterfly holding the superbly finished gear train with its two sapphire crystal gear wheels and supports the white fired silver dial ring. The finishing of the movement – that is completely openworked – is fascinating, as each and every component has been painstakingly finished by hand, whether black polishing, circling and angling. It is important to note the incredible number of interior angles (one of the most complex and difficult types of angling to master consisting of a sharp break between two angles). The two barrels provide the watch with 78 hours (slightly above 3 days) power reserve. A power reserve indicator can be found on the back of the movement and linked to the balance cock. According to Strehler this incorporates what is probably the world’s smallest differential gear.

The present Papillon d’Or cased in platinum bears number 1 elevating its desirability to stratospheric levels. It is only the 2nd time a Strehler timepiece appears at auction (the first was a Sauterelle à Lune Perpetuelle sold by Phillips Geneva in November 2023).

Please note that Andreas Strehler generously offers a complementary servicing of the watch to the winning bidder within a period of 6 months after the sale.