F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain TV
Movement
Manual winding
Size
42 mm

Overview

The vertical tourbillon

The F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain, reference TV, in platinum on the platinum bracelet. Manually wound calibre 1519 in 18K rose gold with a vertical tourbillon, remontoir d'égalité and deadbeat seconds; the rose gold bridges form the dial, with a Grand Feu enamel hour dial at 3 o'clock. 42 mm, 13.6 mm high.

The Tourbillon Souverain was the first model of the F.P. Journe collection. Journe made his first tourbillon wristwatch in 1991; the Tourbillon Souverain of 1999, sold by subscription in twenty examples, was by his account the first wristwatch to carry a remontoir d'égalité. A new construction in 2003 added a natural deadbeat second, and it was then that he moved his movements to 18K rose gold. The watch here is the current generation, developed for the model's twentieth anniversary, and differs from both earlier constructions in the orientation of its cage.

A tourbillon rotates the escapement to average out the rate errors that gravity causes in each position. A conventional cage lies in the plane of the dial and does that work only when the watch stands on edge. Journe turned the cage through 90° so that, in his words, the tourbillon's functions remain constant whether the watch lies flat or on its side, and amplitude is the same on a folding clasp resting on its side as on a pin buckle lying flat. The cage, at 9 o'clock, turns once every 30 seconds rather than once a minute. A remontoir at 7 o'clock feeds the escapement; the seconds at 6 advance once a second; the reserve of 80 hours is read at 12.

For collectors

Three things separate this generation from the constructions of 1999 and 2003, and they are what to check on any piece described as a Tourbillon Souverain: the vertical cage, the 30-second rotation, and the enamel hour dial at 3 o'clock, which the model had not carried before. The remontoir and the deadbeat seconds are inherited from the earlier constructions and are not what is new here. The 1999 series is also the origin of the 'souscription' pieces collectors refer to: twenty examples, sold by subscription before delivery.

Key details

Case materialPlatinum
MovementCalibre 1519, manual winding
CollectionClassique

Design and engineering

  • Vertical cageSet at 90° to the dial, so that the cage's action is the same when the watch lies flat as when it stands on edge, which is the brand's stated reason for the orientation. A cone-shaped mirror-polished ring on the dial side and a second reflector behind light the cage from both faces.
  • Remontoir d'égalitéA small secondary spring, rearmed by the mainspring at a fixed interval, drives the escapement, which therefore never sees the mainspring's declining torque. Journe first fitted one to a wristwatch in 1999 and has kept it through every generation of this model.
  • Deadbeat secondsThe seconds hand advances in one-second steps rather than sweeping, the natural dead second the model has carried since 2003.
  • Bridge dialThe 18K rose gold bridges of the movement form the dial, engraved and hand-painted, with clous de Paris guilloché. The hour dial at 3 o'clock is Grand Feu enamel on 18K white gold, a first for the model.
  • BalanceFlat Anachron balance spring with Phillips overcoil, 21,600 vibrations an hour.

Calibre 1519

  • Manual winding, Geneva made
  • 18K rose gold; bridges guilloché clous de Paris, circular Geneva waves on the base plate
  • Vertical tourbillon, one revolution in 30 seconds
  • Remontoir d'égalité and natural deadbeat seconds
  • 21,600 vibrations per hour, 32 jewels
  • Power reserve 80 ± 2 hours
  • 34.60 mm overall diameter, 10.00 mm high, 230 components

The reference

Technical specifications

Tourbillon Souverain
ReferenceTV
CollectionClassique
CalibreCalibre 1519
MovementManual winding
FunctionsHours and minutes at 3h, Small second at 6h, Power reserve at 12h, Vertical Tourbillon at 9h
Case dimensions42 mm
Case thickness13.6 mm
Case materialPlatinum
NotesDial formed by the 18K rose Gold movement bridges with “Clou de Paris” guilloché, engraved and hand-painted inscriptions, Grand Feu enamel hour dial at 3 o’clock on white Gold
Handsblued Steel
BraceletPlatinum
Jewels32
Power reserve80 ± 2 hours
Frequency21'600 VPH, 3 Hz

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