Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

Hong Kong,the Ritz Carlton Hotel,harbour Room, 3rd Floor, Jun 02, 2007

LOT 320

?Seconde Morte? F. P. Journe, "Invenit et Fecit?, "Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoir d'Egalité avec Seconde Morte?, No. 005-TJ. Produced in a very limited number in 2005. Very fine and rare, platinum and diamond (93 diamonds with a total weight of 21 cts.) gentleman's chronometer wristwatch with visible one-minute tourbillon regulator, constant force ?remontoir? with dead seconds, power reserve indication at 12, 18K pink gold movement and a platinum and diamond-set F. P. Journe deployant buckle. Accompanied by a fitted box.

HKD 1,000,000 - 1,500,000

USD 130,000 - 200,000 / EUR 100,000 - 150,000

Sold: HKD 1,225,500

C. Two-body, solid, polished, concave lugs, transparent case back with 6 screws, winding crown engine-turned with a knurled pattern, sapphire crystals, entirely set with square and rectangular diamonds. D. Diamond-set, brushed 18K white gold dial plate, at 3 guilloché matte silver ring dial with painted Arabic numerals for the hours and minutes, subsidiary seconds ring dial at 6, aperture at 9 for the visible tourbillon regulator under a polished steel bridge, up-and-down indication at 12. Blued steel "Journe" hands. M. Cal. 1403, made from 18K pink gold, "fausses côtes" decoration, 26 jewels, lateral lever escapement with one-minute tourbillon regulator with "A"-shaped tourbillon frame and polished steel bridge, "Gyromax" 4-arm balance with 4 timing weights, selfcompensating free-sprung Breguet balance-spring with Phillips terminal curve, constant-force remontoir with 18K gold wheel, equalizing the mainspring's varying power supply. A blade spring, controlled by a spinning vane, is armed once a second by the force of the main-spring. It feeds a steady flow of power to the balance for a more constant rate and at the same time controls the progression of the dead-seconds hand. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 40 mm. Thickness: 10 mm. Property of an Italian Gentleman


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good

Movement: 2

Very good

Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Notes

This watch was recently overhauled by F.P. Journe.

François-Paul Journe was born in Marseille in March 1957. In 1976 he graduated from the Paris Ecole d'Horlogerie, and two years later he began working in an antique watch restoration workshop in Paris. Journe's first workshop was in the rue de Verneuil in Paris. Among his exceptional early creations are: a tourbillon pocket watch in 1978; a planetary pocket watch in 1985; an automatic chronometer pocket watch in 1986; a "sympathique" clock for the House of Asprey in London. In 2000, Journe established the workshop of his brand in Geneva, and in 2003 the Japanese branch of "Montres Journe" was opened. François-Paul Journe has received many distinctions for his work, among them, the prize of the Fondation de la Vocation Bleustein-Blanchet in 1987; the "Balancier d'or" at the Madrid Watchmakers' Convention in 1989; the Gaia "Watchmaker of the Year" award from the Musée de l'Homme et du Temps, in 1994; the special "Grand Prix de l'horlogerie de Genève" prize of the jury in 2002; the "Grand Prix d'horlogerie de Genève" for men's watches in 2003; the "Gold Hand" Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in 2004; and his ?Chronomètre Souverain? won the watch of the year prize in Japan in 2005. In 2006, he was made "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Minister of Culture. Journe?s ?Sonnerie Souveraine? was awarded the ?Gold Hand? award at the "Grand Prix d'horlogerie de Genève"; that same watch was named watch of the year in Japan in 2007.