F.P. Journe - The New York Watch Auction: NINE New York Saturday, December 9, 2023 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Manufacturer: F.P. Journe
    Year: 2000
    Case No: No. 043 / 00R
    Model Name: Chonomètre à Résonance “Pre-Souscription”
    Material: Platinum
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 1499, 36 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Crocodile
    Clasp/Buckle: Platinum F.P. Journe pin buckle
    Dimensions: 38mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed.
    Accessories: Accompanied by original F.P. Journe guarantee card dated May 12th, 2000, instruction manual, original fitted wooden presentation box, and original white outer box.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Though the brand launched in 1999, and with a living watchmaker at the helm, the scholarship on early F.P. Journe has evolved greatly over the last five years. Even then, the focus has remained largely on the Tourbillon. One cannot discount the innovative quality of the Résonance, however, as the world’s first wristwatch to use the resonance phenomenon. The movement is composed of two independent balances, alternatively serving as an “exciter” and “resonator.” This phenomenon was first documented in horology by French royal clockmaker Antide Janvier in the 18th century in his double pendulum clocks, but it was François-Paul Journe who created the world’s first wristwatch using the resonance phenomenon – with his Chronomètre à Résonance wristwatch officially launching in 2000.

    For clarification, we can organize the earliest F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance examples into three categories. After the first two years of case production (99R and 00R), the characteristics of the Résonance become more standardized, until the brass movement series is discontinued in its entirety by 2004.

    No. 001 – 020: The Souscription watches. These were first offered to those twenty clients of Journe who purchased his Tourbillon Souverain, funding his brand. They bear the suffix /00R for their production year of 2000. They were not necessarily delivered in that order, contrary to previous schools of thought, but many of the clients who purchased a Souscription Tourbillon also ordered a matching Résonance. They have the deeper engravings to the caseback, as Journe used laser-etching for this series.

    No. 021 – 03X: The Pre-Production watches, with suffix /99R. These were in fact the first approximately 10 Resonances created by Journe and are numbered after the Souscription watches but produced and sometimes delivered before. About 10 examples. With shallow engravings.

    No. 03X – 05X: The Pre-Souscription watches, with suffix /00R. The present watch. Estimated 30-40 examples. These were ordered before the Souscription Resonances and bear the shallow engravings and shiny dials typical of the earliest references R and T. According to Journe, in an editorial titled “Mistakes and miracles” shallow engravings only exist until 050/00R.

    The earliest Pre-Souscription Résonances share all the delightful traits of the very first pieces to be manufactured by Journe, with the exception that their cases were ordered in 2000, rather than 1999. Once could conclude that the “pre-production” watches, ordered in 1999, were delivered to those who attended the Basel Fair wherein Journe presented his creations to the public for the first time. The “pre-souscription” watches, one can hypothesize, were purchased by the first members of the public to be won over by Journe’s horological merits.

    Number 43 Chronomètre à Résonance displays the classic configuration of a platinum case and yellow gold dial. Matching with the No. 43 Tourbillon, the main gold dial is extremely shiny, with a grainy texture that belies its hand-finished nature, with silvery sub-dials for the two timekeeping dials. Furthermore, a similar lacquered finish is evident on the dial of the Résonance as well – in this example, one can observe around the power reserve display. Tilted back and forth in natural light, it takes on numerous tones and textures, from a deep gold to a pale textured bronze. The case is in an enviable state of preservation, every imperfection of the shallow hand-engravings crisp and visible as if the burin was just set back down on the bench.

    Like its predecessor, the previous lot, it comes with its original guarantee and presentation box. Both presentation boxes are of the earliest type used by the brand, seen only in watches delivered in 1999 and 2000. They lack the small gold-toned push buttons that adorn the opening mechanism of later boxes and features three separate layers within.

    The appearance of this set of Number 43 “Pre-Souscription” F.P. Journe timepieces serves as a moment of examination and reflection of the early history of the brand. They provide a window into the first days of F.P. Journe, and the emotions inspired upon their launch. Delivered a mere six weeks from one another, with matching serial numbers, to the same collector, they then passed directly into the hands of a collector, the current consignor, with the same enthusiasm for a laudable and forward-thinking brand.

    Appearing at auction for the first time, this two-owner collection is near the apex of F.P. Journe collecting.

  • Artist Biography

    F.P. Journe

    Swiss • 1999

    Founded by watchmaker François-Paul Journe in 1999, the F.P. Journe brand is relatively young, but already is as highly regarded by collectors as many distinguished manufacturers with centuries-old heritage. In the minds of the world's savviest collectors, Journe is producing some of the finest wristwatches the market has ever seen. Mastering his craft from restoring historical timepieces, he was the first to create a wristwatch incorporating two escapements that benefit from the phenomenon of resonance — the Chronomètre à Résonance.

    Key models include the Résonance, tourbillon wristwatches incorporating a remontoir and the limited edition Vagabondage series. Especially sought-after are his earliest "souscription" watches, made in 1999.

    View More Works

Σ111

Numbered 43/00R, an extremely important and early “pre-souscription” chronometer wristwatch with double escapement, power reserve indicator, early "shiny" dial, shallow engravings, guarantee, and presentation box

2000
38mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed.

Estimate
$500,000 - 1,000,000 
CHF442,000-884,000
€457,000-914,000
HK$3,900,000-7,800,000
S$668,000-1,340,000

Sold for $800,100

Contact Specialist

Paul Boutros
Deputy Chairman and Head of Watches, Americas
+1 (212) 940-1293
WatchesNY@Phillips.com
 
Isabella Proia
Head of Sale, New York
+1 (212) 940 1285
iproia@phillips.com

The New York Watch Auction: NINE

New York Auction 9 - 10 December 2023