Lot 97: F.P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu
The most captivating element of this timepiece lies upon its beautiful chrome blue dial. With a ray of light, the metallic chrome dial radiates with incredible sheens of blue, it is easy for one to be drawn in admiration instantly. Dedicated to deliver the highest quality of haute horology, this mesmerising colour of blue is obtained by meticulous precision of hand applied blue lacquer layers, each polished to a mirror finish before the next layer is applied.
F.P. Journe comment on the watch: “I managed to find the blue that I was looking for on the Chronomètre Bleu dial by doing the GS of Jean Todt.”
Lot 13: F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain "Black Label"
The Chronomètre Souverain is the simplest and purest iteration of Journe’s Black Label watches, with a deceptively restrained dial featuring power reserve and subsidiary seconds that belies the highly advanced chronometer-grade movement that beats within. Crafted in 18K pink gold and finely finished throughout, the caliber 1304 was built with the precision and technical mastery of marine chronometers in mind, as well as the wearability and comfort of the modern collector. The movement itself is a mere 3.75mm thick, and the overall thickness of the case measures 8.6mm.
F.P. Journe comment on the watch: “When I presented it to my friend Eugenio Zigliotto, he said to me: you have just made a classic for the next 50 years.”
Lot 100 : F.P. Journée Ref. T30 Tourbillon Anniversaire Historique
To celebrate thirty years since Journe made his own tourbillon pocket watch, the watchmaker decided to produce ninety-nine examples of a wristwatch wholly inspired by his first tourbillon pocket watch. This Tourbillon Anniversaire Historique, numbered 97 of 99, is one of the final pieces to be completed. The layout of the dial is almost the same as the original pocket watch, only shrunk to fit a 40mm case. To recreate the pocket watch dial, Journe employed the technique of engraving the dial and then filling the engravings with lacquer, something usually associated with the finest vintage wristwatches and pocket watches. The unorthodox combination of 18K rose gold and silver – with the former used for the pieces of the watch that would receive more wear, such as the bezel, caseback band, and crown, and the latter used for the majority of the case including the lugs and the guilloche hunter caseback. A brilliant, radiating guilloche pattern encircles the number of the watch on the outside of the hunter caseback.
F.P. Journe comment on the watch: “Everyone knows that this is the transmission of my first pocket watch into a wristwatch, the mix of silver and gold is designed to oxidise, that's how they become beautiful.”
Lot 150 : F.P. Journe Ref. CTT Centigraphe Souverain Anniversary – Hong Kong Boutique
The Centigraphe Anniversaire features Journe’s innovative, in-house manually-wound chronograph capable of measuring down to one hundredth of a second. When the chronograph function is engaged, the 100th of a second hand at 10 o’clock, released by the watch’s escapement, completes one revolution per second. Once the chronograph is stopped, this hand can be stopped anywhere, allowing even a fractional 100th of a second reading. Along with the high-grade caliber 1506, the case uses a rocker stop/reset button, which allows the wearer’s fingers to stay in the same place to keep time, allowing for more precise use of the chronograph. Each subsidiary dial is marked “S” or “M” and “PR” for Seconds or Minutes Per Revolution.
F.P. Journe comment on the watch: “I imagined the Centigraphe in 2004 when I visited the Scuderia Ferrari, a hundredth of a second chronograph, which is why Jean Todt is the patron of this watch.”
Lot 154 : F.P. Journe 076-04TN Tourbillon Souverain
Francois-Paul Journe launched his namesake brand with the motto “invenit et fecit” (invented and made) in 1999, first introducing the Tourbillon Souverain Remointoir d’Egalite, known as the “T”. In 2003, Francois-Paul Journe pushed the boundaries of his timekeeping masterpiece further, upgrading the “T” to the “TN” model (“Tourbillon Nouveau”), the reference Tourbillon Souverain Remontoire d’Egalité avec Seconde Morte. “Seconde Morte”, the art of making time stand still, is the French term for “dead beat seconds”. This complication requires the utmost precision to reliably stop and restart the seconds hand as the escapement continues to beat—not moving until one second has elapsed, then jumping to the next second. Enhanced with a deadbeat seconds complication, the timepiece with constant force mechanism was designed for highly accurate, precision timekeeping. With the introduction of an 18 karat pink gold movement and cased predominantly in platinum as well as pink gold, it was in production until 2018. During this time, several iterations were made with limited and precious dials, such as the present, spectacular example manufactured for Sincere Fine Watches, the venerated Singaporean retailer, with a black mother-of-pearl dial.
F.P. Journe comment on the watch: “In 2003, I had a flash while I was drawing the Optimum. The dead beat second! I immediately drew the TN in one night.”