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F.P. JOURNE TOURBILLON SOUVERAIN AND RÉPÉTITION SOUVERAINE
WATCHMAKING AS HIGH AS IT GETS
Celebrated independent watchmaker François-Paul Journe created his first Tourbillon Souverain with remontoir d’égalité in 1999. It was sold by subscription, and only 20 pieces were made — getting one on the pre-owned market now is a real coup for
any collector. The new Tourbillon Souverain 20th Anniversary piece, however, presents another opportunity to own a tourbillon from this master. The main innovation here is that the tourbillon cage is on a plane vertical to the dial rather than in the traditional horizontal position. Configuring it this way is not only aesthetically interesting, but regulates the amplitude when the watch is not being worn, whether it lies flat or on its side, as it does when worn on a strap or bracelet with a deployant clasp. As a 30-second tourbillon, it rotates faster than the usual one-minute
versions, making it even more visually interesting and more chronometrically efficient. The 18k rose gold bridges that form the dial are decorated in a clous de Paris guilloché pattern. There is a grand feu enamel hour dial at 3 o’clock, a power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock, and a small seconds at 6 o’clock. The 42 mm case is platinum.
The Répétition Souveraine is another of F.P. Journe’s masterpieces. Here, the watchmaker employed innovative space-saving strategies to create an ultra-flat and extremely light minute repeater. The movement is only 4 mm thick, and the case, only 8 mm thick. It sounds the hours, quarters, and minutes on a flat gong that is mounted under the dial, which produces a strong, crystal-clear tone. A special inertia regulator controls the speed of the chimes, thus eliminating any background noise. The dial is whitened guilloché silver with blued steel hands. You can see the gongs through a window in the dial between 9 and 10 o’clock.
Like all F.P. Journe timepieces, these watches were assembled by hand, according to the brand’s motto: Invenit et Fecit , which is Latin for “invented and made by hand.” F.P. Journe produces all its movements in 18k rose gold, a first in the watch world and a unique feature of the brand. F.P. Journe makes about 900 watches a year.
98 ] Z A D O K J E W L E R S M A G A Z I N E
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