F.P.Journe – Tourbillon SOUVERAIN Gold Back Dial BOUTIQUE 20th Anniversary Edition 2021
THE TOURBILLON SOUVERAIN BOUTIQUE EDITION WITH BLACK DIAL ON 18K 6N GOLD CASE IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN THE F.P.JOURNE BOUTIQUES AND ESPACES AROUND THE WORLD.
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A New Tourbillon Souverain to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Tourbillon Souverain
The innovative and revolutionary horological creator François-Paul Journe has inspired a generation of contemporary watchmakers with the originality of his creations, his quest for precision, his timeless and immediately recognisable style, and his respect for horological ethics and traditions.
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The year 2003 saw the birth of the new generation of Tourbillon Souverain, to which François-Paul Journe added natural deadbeat second. Then, to make the watches even more desirable, he produced his haute horlogerie movements in 18k rose Gold, a first in the world of modern mechanical watchmaking.
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Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
This vertical tourbillon with remontoir d’égalité and deadbeat second makes one revolution every 30 seconds. This is faster than the usual time of one minute, making the technical prowess even more visually astonishing. Surrounding the cage, a cone-shaped mirror-polished ring concentrates light, reflecting the tourbillon cage.
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A second reflector was created on the movement side to provide light around the tourbillon cage. The 4N rose Gold bridges that form the dial are decorated with “Clous de Paris” guilloche with, for the first time, an enamel hour dial at 3 o’clock. The new Tourbillon Souverain also features an 80-hour power reserve at 12 o’clock and small seconds at 6 o’clock; the remontoir d’égalité is placed at 7 o’clock.
“From ancient times, humankind has constantly attempted to measure time by dividing it into equal fractions and inventing the notion of isochronism! Only with the arrival of the first mechanical clocks did specialists begin to seek a means of equalising the force reaching the es-capement. The balance-spring did not yet exist and the so-called “foliot” balance had an irregular beat due to irregular transmission of force because of the imperfections of the gearing. At the time, clocks were equipped with just one hand, which completed a revolution once every 12 hours, since their degree of imprecision did not permit the measurement of minutes. After the invention of the mainspring, which would en-able the construction of table-clocks, 15 th century watchmaker Jost Bürgi had the idea of adding an extra gear representing an inde-pendent system wound in short spurts by the mainspring. The escapement thus ensured a more constant flow and allowed several months of autonomy: this was the first remontoire or constant-force device!
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Nonetheless, making a constant-force device was a complex and tedious task, causing it to be almost entirely abandoned in the 20 th century, apart from a few rare exceptions: English watchmaker Georges Daniels used it in a tourbillon pocket-watch; his contemporary Anthony Randall built it into a table-clock based on the principle of John Harrison’s H.4; and I myself have incorporated it into three tourbillon pocket-watches, a so-called “sympathique” clock and more recently for the very first time in wristwatch form with the first model in the F.P.Journe - Invenit et Fecit - collection, the Tourbillon Souverain.
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What is fascinating in the principle of the constant-force device is that each watchmaker who has set out to build one has his own personal interpretation: only the basic idea remains the same.”
Towards the late 17 th century, as clocks were becoming increasingly precise, watchmakers added a hand that enabled them to measure seconds. These “clocks”, which became “pendulum clocks” thanks to the invention of the pendulum balance by the Dutch watchmaker Huy-gens, were almost naturally equipped with a 1 metre-long balance with a period of 1 second. The dial was marked out into 60 subdivisions so that the hand could jump from one second to the next.
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When the first watches indicating seconds were made, some 18 th century watchmakers wanted to achieve the same visual effect as on clocks. To do so, they invented systems extending the period of the balances, the best-known being the “crown-wheel escapement with pendulum” or the huge balance by Mr. Pouzait. Nonetheless, these systems were rapidly abandoned, since they were detrimental to precision.
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Thus, without an additional system, the hand started to beat out the half-second, the most widespread frequency of the time. The extreme ease with which time could be read thank to a seconds-beating hand, which remained motionless and only moved when the second changed, gave 19 th century watchmakers some new ideas.
The first consisted of a small additional gear train activated by a spring connected to the mainspring. Each second, the hand was released by the watch escapement. This so-called “independent deadbeat seconds” offered the advantage of not affecting the precision of the watch and could be disconnected at will by the user.
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The second comprised an additional gear-train running from the escape-wheel to an additional seconds wheel equipped with 60 teeth held by a spring. This extremely simple system was extremely prejudicial to precision.
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In the third, a so-called “single-beat escapement” waited for the balance to complete two oscillations in order for the escape-wheel to move forward every second. These escapements were extremely popular in watches produced in China, since according to Chinese philosophy, this corresponded to making time stand still. Time was no longer in control, since it was mastered by the wearer…
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Today, the Tourbillon Souverain is equipped with a “natural deadbeat seconds” device. The latter is mounted on one of the wheels of the con-stant-force device and cannot in any way affect the precision of the watch.
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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Collection: BOUTIQUE SOUVERAIN
Model: Tourbillon SOUVERAINE BOUTIQUE Edition
This edition is available only in the F.P.Journe boutiques.
Calibre 1519
18K rose Gold
Manual winding
29 turns of crown
Dimensions:
Overall diameter : 34.60 mm
Cased-up diameter : 34.20 mm
Overall height : 10.00 mm
Height of winding stem : 3.66 mm
Diameter of stem thread : S1.20 mm
Balance:
4 inertia weights
Flat Anachron balance spring with Philips overcoil
Pinned stud
Free-sprung
Spring pinned to collet
Frequency: 21'600 VPH, 3 Hz
Inertia: 11 mg/cm2
Angle of lift: 52°
Amplitude:
0h dial up : > 260°
24h vertical : > 260°
Main characteristics:
Vertical Tourbillon with constant force and dead second
2 position winding crown
Manual winding in position 1
Time adjustment by crown in position 2
Escapement:
15 tooth escape wheel
90° anchor fork
Indications:
- Hours and minutes at 3h
- Small second at 6h
- Power reserve at 12h
- Vertical Tourbillon at 9h
Decoration:
High quality
Guilloche Clous de Paris on bridges
Circular Geneva Waves on base plate
Screw heads polished and bevelled
Pegs with polished rounded ends
Case
Platinum or 18K 6N Gold
Diameter: 42.00 mm
Height: 13.60 mm
Dial
Dial formed by the 18K rose Gold bridges engraved, painted, and decorated with “Clous de Paris” guilloché with a Grand Feu enamel hour dial at 3 o’clock in 18K white Gold
Number of components:
Mouvement : 230
Cased on leather strap : 260
Jewels : 32
Strap
Black alligator with 18K red Gold or Platinum clasp
⭕️ Patents
- 1️⃣ European patent — EP 1760 544 A1
Power reserve indicator device
- 2️⃣ European patent — EP 1528 443 A1
Remontoir and deadbeat seconds
Press release - 2021
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MONTRES JOURNE SA
Brigitte Bocquet-Makhzani - Communication
International PR & Events Manager
17, rue de l’Arquebuse – 1204 Geneva – Switzerland
Tel : +41 (0)22 322 09 09
Fax : +41 (0)22 322 09 19
e-mail: bmakhzani@fpjourne.com
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www.F.P.Journe.com
