Important Collector's Wristwatches,Po...

Grand Havana Room, Mar 24, 2004

LOT 323

F. P. Journe "Invenit et Fecit", "Chronomètre â Resonance", No. 052/00R. Produced circa 2000.Very fine and rare, platinum, two-time zone, world's first wristwatch chronometer with resonance controlled twin independent movements, 40 hour power reserve indication and a platinum F.P. Journe buckle.

USD 21,000 - 26,000

EUR 15,800 - 20,000

Sold: USD 41,400

C. three-body, solid, polished, transparent case back with screws, top and side crowns engine-turned with a knurled pattern, sapphire crystals. D. twin "guilloché" matte silver with concentric radial Arabic numerals and minute rings, offset subsidiary seconds dials on brushed 18K white gold dial plate with power reserve at 12. Blued steel "Journe"-style hands. M. Cal. F.P.Journe 13''', rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration, twin independent complete trains set on a single plate, 37 jewels,twin staight line lever escapements, twin beryllium four-arm balances with four 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 two balances in order to find the most efficient position for resonance synchronisation. The crown at 5 syncronizes the seconds hands.Dial and case signed.Diam. 38 mm.


LOADING IMAGES
Click to full view
Image

Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good

Movement: 2

Very good

Dial: 1 - 01

Notes

"Chronomètre à Résonance"..An exceptional and unique creation in chronometer engineering, the Resonance System Chronometer exhibits the so-called resonance, a phenomenon of physics duly applied to the science of horology. A world first, this wristwatch uses two entirely independent movements which inter-operate in harmony with each other for a wearing 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 any 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. In the past, 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 istll difficult to explain.Until the recent years, the phenomena of resonance was not well understood, but had already been pointed out as early as the 17th century by Christian Huygens, in particular, among several other scientists. For instance, the highlyprecision 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 fitted in the Catacombes, at a dpth of 26 meters to eliminate fluctuations in temperature and atmospheric pressure.They were also set in separated rooms, in order to avoid any resonance interference. However, as early as the end of the 18th century, few clockmakers among the most eminent 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 precsion. When you make a sudden movement, the two movements clash in opposite directins and gradually come to operate in harmony as a result of the force of resonance. As they are inter-attracted, they oscillate together in union, an invisible wave linking the two balances.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 the shocks and compensate the disturbances in order to ensuridentical regularity, whether it is worn or not.Antiquorum sold the prototype of this watch in Geneva, on October 23, 1999, lot 75.