François-Paul Journe launched his namesake brand in 1999 under the motto “Invenit et Fecit”—Latin for “invented and made”—introducing the Tourbillon Souverain Remontoire d’Égalité, known simply as the “T.” In 2003, he elevated this creation further with the “TN” or Tourbillon Nouveau, officially titled the Tourbillon Souverain Remontoire d’Égalité avec Seconde Morte.

The seconde morte, or “deadbeat seconds,” is a poetic and technically demanding complication in which the seconds hand appears to pause and jump precisely once per second, even as the escapement continues to beat smoothly in the background. Combined with the constant force remontoire, the result is a tourbillon built for extraordinary precision. Fitted with an 18k pink gold movement and cased in either platinum or pink gold, the 40mm Tourbillon Souverain was produced until 2018, marking the end of a defining chapter in Journe’s early work.

Among the most visually striking and exceptionally rare versions of the TN is the Tourbillon Souverain Régence Circulaire, which was released as a Boutique Edition with pink gold cases and matching pink gold dials. Its most captivating feature is the intricately hand-engraved dial, inspired by geometric motifs from the French Régence period of the early 18th century. Each dial took a Geneva-based artisan two full days to complete. Uber rare, this example is the first of its kind—with both pink gold case and dial—to appear on an international auction room.