fp journe tourbillon souverain closeup with caseback

F.P. JOURNE – TOURBILLON SOUVERAIN CALIBRE 1403

THE EXCEPTION THAT PROVES THE RULE

François-Paul Journe pays tribute to the history of watchmaking. The Tourbillon Souverain brings together tradition and innovation to the delight of collectors.

Until the 16th century, pocket watches told the time with a single hand that went around the dial in 12 hours. This lack of precision that couldn’t measure minutes ended when the watchmaker Jobst Bürgi invented the “remontoir d’égalité”. The balance wheel could beat regularly with the help of an ad hoc mechanism taking the required energy from the main spring. Countless watchmakers designed their own complex and tedious mechanisms for clocks and table clocks. F.P.Journe has designed a contemporary take on it to bring amazing timekeeping performance to the Tourbillon Souverain Calibre 1403. A dead-beat seconds has been added to the system for an even more accurate display. Basically, the hand doesn’t move until the second has passed. So instead of sliding, the seconds hand jumps on the dial.

fp journe tourbillon souverain closeup with caseback

The manual-wind movement is made of rose gold. The dial’s display of the functions plays with the rules of geometry. The tourbillon at 9 visually echoes the hour and minute disc off-centre at 3. The 40-hour power reserve at 12 and small seconds at 6 create a perfectly symmetrical axis.

The Tourbillon Souverain Calibre 1403 comes in rose gold and platinum in two case sizes: 38 and 40mm. The timepieces bear F.P.Journe’s signature “Invenit et Fecit” and come on two stylish leather straps.

Price: 173,300 € (rose gold version) 177,400 € (platinum version)

By Dan Diaconu