François Paul Journe is one of only a handful of watchmakers, throughout the world who still make bespoke timepieces, that is to say: entirely made by himself in his workshop, with each watch being individually designed for the client and made by order.François Paul Journe was born in Marseille in March 1957. He entered a watchmaking school at the age of 14 and after two years, moved to Paris to continue his studies, where he obtained his diploma two years later. During his studies, he worked with his uncle Michel Journe, a specialist in restoration of antique clocks and watches. During the time and for the next eight years, he had the chance to work on and to study objects from the very beginnings of mechanical horology through today.In 1985, he decided to open his own workshop on rue de Verneuil, in the heart of the artists quarter of Paris, and start to make complicated watches of his own design for several international collectors. He joined the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, A.H.C.I. (Horological Academy of Independent Creators), in 1986 and started to be a regular exhibitor at the International Clock and Watch Fair of Basel.Only two years after his professional independence, he received the honors of the Bleustein Blanchet Fondation, created in 1960 to foster and reward outstanding achievement in the professional world. And so, he received the Laureate Prize of the Fondation de la Vocation, a very well recognized and esteemed distinction.In 1989, he was honored by the horological spanish academy who delivered him the golden prize of Balancier d'or for his global work. His boundless creativity pushed him to create the same year, with a small group of colleagues, the Manufacture company, Technique Horlogères Appliquées S.A. (T.H.A.) in Switzerland, specialized in developments and manufacturing of complex and innovative products, most of which were conceived by François Paul Journe for several famous brands.Established since then in Geneva, he created last yearMontres Journe S.A., rue des Maraîchers 5, Geneva. He developed and manufactured complex and innovative products for many major companies such as Piaget with The Grande Sonnerie, Cartier with the Mysterious clocks and watches, Asprey, Breguet, Corum, etc.Apart from the complex wristwatches and pocket watches that François Paul Journe has made in recent years, he has designed and built a sophisticated version of the Pendule Sympathique, originally for Asprey. A clock which incorporates a minute-repeating pocket watch and a tourbillon wristwatch wound and set to time by the clock!An exceptional and unique creation in chronometer engineering, the Resonance System Chronometer exhibits the so-called resonance, physics phenomenon duly applied to the science of horology. A world first, this wristwatch uses two entirely independent movements which inter-operate in sympathy with each other for a wearing precision which 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 in so far as the waves selected have not encountered other waves, those of the radio transmitter, until they become harmonised. 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, iis still difficult to explain...Until the recent years, the phenomena of resonance were not well understood but had already been pointed out as early as the 17th century, by Christian Huygens in particular, among severalTo be continued on page 166other scientists. For instance, the highly 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 Eifel Tower, were fitted in the Catacombes beneath at a depth of 26 meters to eliminate fluctuations in temperature and atmospheric pressure, were also set in separated rooms, in order to avoid any resonance interference. However as early as the end of the 18th cntury, few clockmakers among the most eminent, found a way to take advantage of the success of such a phenomenon, by synchronising 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 sympathy as a result of the force of resonance. As they are inter-attracted, they oscillattogether in unison, an invisible wave linking the two balances.This timepiece is the only precision chronometer which 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 ensure identical regularity whether it is worn or not.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWe greatefully acknowledge the institutions and individuals listed below who have kindly granted permission for the reproduction of the various portraits and documents used throughout the catalogue, or provided valuable help and assistance.Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.Giraudon, Paris.Guildhall Library, London.Musée de la Marine, Paris.Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris.Roger-Viollet, Paris.Our special thanks to Mr. Charles Allix, who put all his unrivalled knowledge at our disposal.Our thanks also to:Mr. George Daniels for his generous permission to allow the reproduction of several drawings from his book The Art of Breguet.Mr. Emmanuel Breguet, in charge of Breguet Historical Heritage in Paris, and who kindly carried out in depht research for us in the Breguet Archives.Mr. Anthony Randall, the author of the The Time Museum Catalogue of Chronometers.Mr. Jonathan Betts, Curator of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.Mrs. Sylvie Dricourt from the Archives of Patek Philippe S.A., Genève.The Archives of Charles Frodsham & Co., London.The Archives of Ulysse Nardin S.A., Le Locle.Mr. David Penney.Mr. Reinhard Meis.Mr. Gilbert Jornod, Ingénieur, from the Observatoire Cantonal of Neuchâtel.Mrs. Schmidelin from the Observatoire National of Besançon.