F.P.Journe debuts Tourbillon Régence

The horological art takes on an unprecedented artistic dimension with the F.P.Journe’s latest exclusive Tourbillon Souverain with Régence Circulaire hand-engraved dial – a limited edition of only 20 pieces

François-Paul Journe has always been fascinated by the 18th century, which he considers to be the golden age of time measurement. The Régence Circulaire motif, which pays homage to the clockmakers and artisans of the 18th century, was inspired by geometric motifs of the Regency period.

It takes two days for a Geneva artist to hand-engrave this work of art. The Régence Circulaire motif is first drawn on the raw white gold dial. Then the artist incises the pattern into the metal. Different kinds and shapes of burins are used, which the artist prepares ahead of time so as to be suited to her own personal manner of working and the size of her hands. These tools count among her trade secrets.

After roughing out the grained decoration of the surface and the champlevé areas, the artist begins perfecting the background texture, then giving a final finish to the engraving of the lines. After two days of painstaking work requiring highly specialised skills as well as great patience and dexterity, the dial, whose tiniest imperfections, visible only under the watchmaker’s loupe, are the signs of a hand-created piece, is given over to the expert hands of another artisan, who gives the dial a final polishing that leaves it gleaming.

The Tourbillon Souverain with the remontoire or constant force device system, which the brand values since 1983 for its timekeeping performances, is enriched with the addition of an independent dead-beat second. This complication, representing a unique feature on a contemporary wristwatch, provides a more accurate read-off of time. The French term for “dead second” (seconde morte) or “dead-beat seconds”, stems from the fact that the hand remains motionless (“dead”) for as long as the second has not actually elapsed. The hand thus indicates the second once it has actually gone past.

The Tourbillon Souverain is still the most accurate on the market today. This exceptional mechanism in 18K rose gold, characteristic of the brand, reveals its technical performance through the transparent sapphire crystal case-back. The Tourbillon Souverain with Régence Circulaire hand-engraved dial is housed in an equally noble 40mm case in 18K red gold. It is available exclusively in the F.P.Journe Boutiques and Espaces.