The present Chronomètre à Resonance is fresh to the market, from the original owner and number 84 of a limited edition of 99 pieces. One of five watches part of the F.P. Journe “Ruthenium Collection”

Made between 2001 and 2005 the watches in the Ruthenium collection bookend the brass movement production and the move to 18K pink gold movements now in use throughout Journe’s watches. The Ruthenium Collection comprises five models: the Octa Jour/Nuit (Night/Day), the Octa Calendrier, the Octa Chronographe, the Chronomètre à Résonance (the present watch), and the Tourbillon Souverain.

Each model was released in only 99 examples and are some of the most highly coveted, early Journe timepieces. Stylistically, the Ruthenium Collection, with their larger 40 mm case diameter, close the door on the early brass movement pieces, and ushered in the more modern iterations that have drawn admirers of Journe’s craft year after year. The models featured brass movements but coated in light-absorbing ruthenium. Similarly, the white gold dials are specially coated with the same ruthenium, yet the remarkable sheen and luster found in Journe’s earliest dials is preserved.

F.P. Journe’s Chronomètre à Résonance represents not only one of modern horology’s technical milestones and one of the most relevant horological breakthroughs of the past decades, but it is also a signature piece by the genius watchmaker. Inspired by the works of the great 18th century watchmaker Antide Janvier, Journe took up the challenge in 1983 to create a pocket-watch using the resonance phenomenon, followed by the first ever wristwatch to use the phenomenon around 17 years later. The movement is composed of two independent balance wheels, when in motion, the balance wheels create the resonance effect and beat in synchrony, naturally evening out each others’ discrepancies and thus permitting greater accuracy.