Thirty-eight of the sets were made to commemorate the end of the 38mm case size, (very much the choice of the original purist) and this was the first time that any Journe dress watch (excluding a grande or petite sonnerie chiming watch), was made available in steel. Four of the five pieces (apart from the
Chronomètre Souverain) in the collection have been discontinued.
Moreover, the original version of the Tourbillon Souverain had never been made with a gold movement. This example was originally made between 1999 and 2003 with a ‘Remontoir d’Egalité’; rather than a dead-seconds complication. It was also the very first production watch made by Journe. This example, represents the first original version of the Tourbillon Souverain to have been made with a gold movement - a fitting successor to François-Paul Journe’s very own tourbillion wristwatch.
The Tourbillon Souverain is quintessentially an F.P Journe, in both its design language and movement. Housed in a classical 38 mm dress watch case, it is made distinctive by F.P. Journe’s signature ‘flat crown’ with a rope-like pattern. The yellow dial is delicately textured, and displays a separate silver guilloché dial for the hours and minutes. The words ‘Invenit et Fecit’ are inscribed below the tourbillion (Latin for “Invented and Made”) in classic F.P Journe style - a nod to signing conventions of a century ago. At 12 o’clock, a power reserve indicator of 42 hours is displayed. Overall, the dial layout is clean and highly legible.
The one-second rementoir d'egalité system is displayed in one of two large apertures on the dial side, providing constant force to the escapement, acting as a transmission and balancing system for the transfer of power between the mainspring and the escapement.
This manual-winding, F.P. Journe caliber 1498 tourbillon movement is 18-carat rose gold, with fausses côtes embellishments, constructed with 25 jewels and a shock absorber mechanism. It further features a straight-line lever escapement, and monometallic 4-arm balance with 4 timing weights, adjusted to 5 positions. It includes a self-compensating free-sprung flat balance spring. The movement is engraved "Chronometre A Tourbillion" and "Remontoir D’Elegante".
A Collected Man is delighted to be able to offer a rare opportunity to acquire a truly iconic, collectors’ piece. We leave the final word to F.P. Journe, who on their website state “it is extremely rare for luxury watches to be cased in steel. There are very few such watches, and they reach much higher prices at auction than the same models in precious metals. This set is intended for true collectors, those who know what is rare. The combination of 18K rose-gold movements with 38 mm steel cases makes this set the rarest of all F.P. Journe’s collections.”
Other watches from the set, including the Octa Automatique, the Octa Calendrier, the Chronomètre Souverain and the Chronomètre à Résonance are available in our collection of F. P. Journe watches.Viewings are available at our office in central London, by appointment only.
