FP Journe’s first chronometer tourbillon, completely handcrafted.
When Francois-Paul Journe started building his first watch in 1977, he was a fresh graduate from watchmaking school Ecole d’horloger and while working with uncle Michel Journe as a vintage clock and watch restorer, he had fallen in love with beautiful antique timepieces from the great masters like Ferdinand Berthoud (of the double balance wheels), Abraham-Louis Breguet (of tourbillon, overcoil and hands fame), Antide Janvier (of the resonance clocks), George Daniels (of Co-Axial fame) and others.
Like the great masters who graduated with a pocket watch of their own making, usually a tourbillon, he set about making his own using illustrations from vintage watchmaking texts and studying up on the kinematics of the movements. It would take him 5 years but eventually, his gold and silver chronometer with tourbillon was complete in 1983. He had crafted each component himself, from the gears to the tourbillon cage and even the case but his realisation of his first pocket watch entirely by hand meant that like the masters, he was finally in an elite club of real watchmakers. That first tourbillon would form the foundation for F.P. Journe’s Historical Anniversary Tourbillon 30 years on.
This Historical F.P. Journe Tourbillon
F.P. Journe’s Historical Anniversary Tourbillon
The wristwatch is a faithful new interpretation of the 1983 original tourbillon pocket watch right down to the movement bearing two parallel barrels distributing energy to the wheel train and the one revolution per minute tourbillon save for one very important difference, it uses a lateral pallet escapement in place of a detent escapement of the original.
Considered as one of the ‘Grails’ of chronometric precision, detent escapement was used in the original chronometer tourbillon. The most effective of all the ‘free’ escapements, the detent utilised a pivoted, balanced ‘detent’ with reduced inertia which acts on the stoppage of the escape wheel as a result, instead of the two impulses per oscillation for standard free escapements, the detent escapement receives only one. Yet, despite all of its effectiveness, it was very susceptible to shocks. On a marine chronometer, while mounted on gimbals, this wouldn’t be an issue. On a wrist however, a lateral pallet escapement was more practical.
Also replaced, are traditional key winding and time setting requirements and in its place a 3 o’clock crown. That said, the same materials as in its predecessor have been used. In the new Historical Anniversary Tourbillon, the case bears silver guilloche decoration, while front and back 4N rose gold bezels accent the watch, lending it an air of classic elegance.
Pop open the “hunter style” case back and one is rewarded with an almost mirror image of the original pocket watch movement in grained and gilded brass. The 99 limited edition run was presented as a Premiere on October 18th in Tokyo, celebrating the 10th anniversary of F.P. Journe’s first boutique as well. The timepiece is a celebration of Journe’s amazing journey and one would be lucky to be part of his independent maison’s awe-inspiring history.
