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Lot Essay
The Tourbillon Souverain Vertical is, even by the extraordinary standards of F.P. Journe, an awe-inspiring and seriously impressive horological masterpiece. Released in 2019 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Tourbillon Souverain, the reference ‘TV’ (Tourbillon Vertical) sports a tourbillon whose cage is, as the name suggests, vertical, rather than the traditional horizontal cage. The model was available in either a platinum or 18k rose gold case.
The present watch, no. 009 of the new edition, is to the best of our knowledge, the first example of the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical to be offered at international auction and presents collectors with an unprecedented opportunity to obtain this remarkable timepiece without delay and with the reassuring and exclusive provenance of the Ultimate Collection.
The Tourbillon Souverain Vertical
In the words of F.P. Journe himself: “I designed this vertical tourbillon so that the tourbillon’s functions remain constant whether the watch lies flat or is placed on its side, and the amplitude is consequently the same, whether the watch has a deployant clasp and lies on its side or an ardillon buckle and lies flat”.
The F.P. Journe rose gold caliber 1519’s vertical tourbillon with remontoir d’égalité and deadbeat seconds makes one revolution every 30 seconds. This is twice as fast as a standard tourbillon which has a one-minute revolution. It is technically extremely challenging to produce and an undeniable visual treat. Surrounding the titanium cage, is a cone-shaped mirror-polished ring that concentrates the light so that it is reflected upon the tourbillon cage. A second reflector is placed on the movement side to project further light around the cage.
The pink gold bridges that form the dial of the Tourbillon Vertical are decorated with a guilloche ‘clous de Paris’ pattern, with the engraved and painted inscriptions it suggests an almost ‘handmade’ aesthetic that harks right back to the very first experimental watches of the original Tourbillon Souverain. The ‘Grand Feu’ white enamel hour dial made in one piece with the seconds dial on an 18k white gold plate is a glorious creation and one that is a first for F.P. Journe. Until the development of the Tourbillon Vertical, F.P. Journe had never found an enamel dial that could meet his standards of perfection. As Journe himself said: ‘All my watches are meant to be thin and so the enamel dial never made sense before. This time, the vertical tourbillon gave me the pleasure of more freedom and space to which I could use an enamel dial. It all meshed together perfectly’. The Tourbillon Souverain Vertical also features a power reserve sector at 12 o’clock and an aperture at 7 o’clock allows a subtle view of the remontoire d'egalité mechanism in action.
Tourbillon Souverain
The ‘Tourbillon Souverain’ is arguably F.P. Journe’s most famous wristwatch model and still one of the most accurate on the market today. Launched in 1999, it was the first ever tourbillon with a remontoir d’egalité, the first time a remontoir device had ever been used in a wristwatch. The remontoir d’egalité is a mechanism which delivers a constant force throughout the duration of winding, therefore the variable force delivered by the mainspring to the escapement as it unwinds is equalized. The Tourbillon Souverain’s combination of remontoir with tourbillon successfully showcases F. P. Journe's technical and design genius in the creation of a highly complicated modern wristwatch yet one whose roots are firmly in the great horological traditions. François-Paul Journe's ingenious masterpiece - The Tourbillon Souverain, received the ‘Aiguille d’Or’ prize at the Geneva ‘Grand Prix d’Horlogerie’ in 2004. It was also elected watch of the year at the ‘Watch of the Year’ grand prize in Japan in 2004. The Tourbillon Souverain series now includes the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical that was created for the 20th anniversary of the original model in 2019.
The present watch, no. 009 of the new edition, is to the best of our knowledge, the first example of the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical to be offered at international auction and presents collectors with an unprecedented opportunity to obtain this remarkable timepiece without delay and with the reassuring and exclusive provenance of the Ultimate Collection.
The Tourbillon Souverain Vertical
In the words of F.P. Journe himself: “I designed this vertical tourbillon so that the tourbillon’s functions remain constant whether the watch lies flat or is placed on its side, and the amplitude is consequently the same, whether the watch has a deployant clasp and lies on its side or an ardillon buckle and lies flat”.
The F.P. Journe rose gold caliber 1519’s vertical tourbillon with remontoir d’égalité and deadbeat seconds makes one revolution every 30 seconds. This is twice as fast as a standard tourbillon which has a one-minute revolution. It is technically extremely challenging to produce and an undeniable visual treat. Surrounding the titanium cage, is a cone-shaped mirror-polished ring that concentrates the light so that it is reflected upon the tourbillon cage. A second reflector is placed on the movement side to project further light around the cage.
The pink gold bridges that form the dial of the Tourbillon Vertical are decorated with a guilloche ‘clous de Paris’ pattern, with the engraved and painted inscriptions it suggests an almost ‘handmade’ aesthetic that harks right back to the very first experimental watches of the original Tourbillon Souverain. The ‘Grand Feu’ white enamel hour dial made in one piece with the seconds dial on an 18k white gold plate is a glorious creation and one that is a first for F.P. Journe. Until the development of the Tourbillon Vertical, F.P. Journe had never found an enamel dial that could meet his standards of perfection. As Journe himself said: ‘All my watches are meant to be thin and so the enamel dial never made sense before. This time, the vertical tourbillon gave me the pleasure of more freedom and space to which I could use an enamel dial. It all meshed together perfectly’. The Tourbillon Souverain Vertical also features a power reserve sector at 12 o’clock and an aperture at 7 o’clock allows a subtle view of the remontoire d'egalité mechanism in action.
Tourbillon Souverain
The ‘Tourbillon Souverain’ is arguably F.P. Journe’s most famous wristwatch model and still one of the most accurate on the market today. Launched in 1999, it was the first ever tourbillon with a remontoir d’egalité, the first time a remontoir device had ever been used in a wristwatch. The remontoir d’egalité is a mechanism which delivers a constant force throughout the duration of winding, therefore the variable force delivered by the mainspring to the escapement as it unwinds is equalized. The Tourbillon Souverain’s combination of remontoir with tourbillon successfully showcases F. P. Journe's technical and design genius in the creation of a highly complicated modern wristwatch yet one whose roots are firmly in the great horological traditions. François-Paul Journe's ingenious masterpiece - The Tourbillon Souverain, received the ‘Aiguille d’Or’ prize at the Geneva ‘Grand Prix d’Horlogerie’ in 2004. It was also elected watch of the year at the ‘Watch of the Year’ grand prize in Japan in 2004. The Tourbillon Souverain series now includes the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical that was created for the 20th anniversary of the original model in 2019.