Important Collectors Watches, Pocket ...
Hong Kong, Jun 08, 2008
LOT 164
Chronomètre à Résonance F.P. Journe, "Invenit et Fecit", "Chronomètre à Résonance", case No. 052-05 RN. Sold on December 26, 2005. Very fine and rare, two time zone, platinum chronometer wristwatch with resonance controlled twin independent movements, 40-hour power-reserve indication and a platinum F.P. Journe buckle. Accompanied by the certificate, fitted box and booklet.
HKD 180,000 - 230,000
USD 23,000 - 30,000 / EUR 15,000 - 18,000
Sold: HKD 420,000
C. Two-body, solid, polished, transparent case back with 6 screws, top and side crowns engine-turned with "cordes de Marseille" pattern, sapphire crystals. D. Twin subsidiary guilloche silver dials with concentric radial Arabic numerals for hours and minutes and the off-set seconds secured to a brushed 18K white gold plate by 6 screws, up and down indication at 12. Blued steel Journe hands. M. Cal. F.P. Journe 1499-2 in 18K pink gold, fausses cotes decoration, twin independent complete trains set on a single plate, 36 jewels, twin straight-line lever escapements, twin beryllium 4-arm balances with 4 adjustable timing weights, shock absorbers, self-compensating free-sprung Invar balance springs. One of the escapements is mounted on a small platform pivoting around the second wheel by means of rack and pinion to adjust the distance between the 2 balances in order finding the most efficient position for resonance synchronization. The crown at 4 synchronizes both seconds hands. Dial and case signed. Diam. 40 mm. Thickness 9 mm.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AAA |
Excellent |
Case: 2 |
Very good |
Movement: 2* |
Very good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Dial: 1-01 |
As new HANDS Original |
Notes
An exceptional and unique creation in chronometer engineering, the Resonance System Chronometer features the so-called phenomenon of resonance, applied to the science of horology. This wristwatch uses two entirely independent movements, which operate in harmony with each other for a precision that exceeds the established limits for mechanical wristwatches. The physical phenomenon of resonance forms an integral part of our daily lives, yet we scarcely pay attention to it. When searching for a specific program on our radio, the radio crackles because the waves selected have not encountered other waves, those of the radio transmitter, until they become harmonized. Napoleon once forbade his troops to march over a bridge for fear of it collapsing from the effects of resonance! Although this phenomenon is proven and acknowledged, it is still difficult to explain. The phenomenon of resonance had been noticed as early as in the 17th century by Christian Huygens, among others. The high precision Constant Pressure regulators, still in use less than 40 years ago at the Observatory of Paris for the Bureau International de l'heure, and the radio broadcast time signal sent from the Eiffel Tower were placed in the Catacombs at a depth of 26 meters, to eliminate fluctuations in temperature and atmospheric pressure. They were also in separate rooms in order to avoid any resonance interference. However, by the end of the 18th century, a few of the most eminent clockmakers found a way to take advantage of the success of such a phenomenon, by synchronizing the pendulums of regulators fitted with two independent movements. Even more so, when applied to a watch, it ensures exceptional operating reliability and precision. When you make a sudden movement, the two movements clash in opposite directions and gradually come to operate in harmony as a result of the force of resonance. As they are attracted by each other, they begin to oscillate in unison. This timepiece is the only precision chronometer that is not affected by the movements of the wearer. The balances oscillate in natural opposition, and therefore absorb shocks and compensate for disturbances, thus ensuring identical regularity, whether or not the watch is worn. Antiquorum sold the prototype of this watch in Geneva on October 23, 1999, lot 75.