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 other’s discrepancies and thus permitting greater accuracy. In 2004, the second generation of the model (the RN series for "Résonance "Nouvelle”) was launched, it featured a larger 40mm case and a 18K rose gold movement.

Purchased as a Christmas gift for her husband by Eleanor Coppola in 2009 at the F.P. Journe Boutique in New York, this Résonance echoes the provenance of many influential watches, such as Paul Newman’s Paul Newman Daytona – a meaningful gift from a beloved spouse. Eleanor and Francis met on the set of 1963 horror film Dementia 13, directed and written by Francis Ford Coppola. They would go on to have three children together, and remained married for 62 years until her passing in 2024. Eleanor was a noted documentarian, screenwriter, and artist who filmed the footage of what is considered the greatest “making of” documentary, “Hearts of Darkness A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse”, chronicling the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”.

It was this watch that spawned the excitement and interest of Francis Coppola in F.P. Journe, and instigated his personal invitation to meet in 2012 at his Inglenook winery in Napa Valley. On the first night of his 3-day stay, during dinner, the idea of telling time using a single hand was proposed by Coppola to Journe. Without this very Résonance, lovingly worn by Coppola, the “FFC” wouldn’t exist, and the first F.P. Journe wristwatch designed by someone other than F.P. Journe would never have come to pass.