[English] F.P.JOURNE Tourbillon Souverain Ref. TV
What matters most today to François-Paul Journe, who has spent nearly half a century tackling the challenges of traditional watchmaking?
The Beginning of F.P.Journe’s Extraordinary Journey
Introduced in 1999, the Tourbillon Souverain was the first timepiece released under the F.P.Journe name to bring together two remarkable horological mechanisms in a wristwatch: the remontoir d’égalité, regarded as one of the pinnacles of traditional pocket watchmaking, and the tourbillon, often considered the heart of mechanical watchmaking. Building on François-Paul Journe’s pioneering achievement of combining these two mechanisms in a wristwatch for the first time, it remains a landmark creation in the history of horology. In a 2015 interview with the American watch specialist Crown & Caliber, François-Paul Journe, founder of F.P.Journe, remarked, “If I only make the same things as everyone else, why bother making them?” The tourbillon has been a recurring feature in his creations, reflecting a lifelong fascination with the mechanism. Originally conceived by Abraham-Louis Breguet and patented in 1801, the tourbillon was designed to average out positional errors caused by gravity in pocket watches, which typically remained in a vertical position for extended periods. What makes François-Paul Journe’s tourbillon watches particularly prized among contemporary collectors is his ability to reinterpret mechanisms that few others had dared to explore, transforming them into timepieces capable of performing reliably under the demands of everyday wear. Throughout this pursuit, he has never compromised on aesthetic refinement.
Around the age of 20, François-Paul Journe experienced a defining encounter with the great traditions of watchmaking at the workshop of his uncle, Michel Journe. There, he discovered historical timepieces by 18th-century masters such as Antide Janvier, Abraham-Louis Breguet, and Ferdinand Berthoud. Of all the mechanisms he encountered, it was the tourbillon that captivated him most. After approximately five years of painstaking work, he completed his first pocket watch in 1983, equipped with a tourbillon and a spring detent escapement. The following year, he was commissioned by Eugen Gschwind, an influential figure in 20th-century horological collecting and scholarship, to create the Tourbillon à Remontoir d’Égalité 3/84, a pocket watch completed in 1984. This project marked a defining step in François-Paul Journe’s development as a watch design-engineer of precision horological mechanisms, laying the technical foundations for the tourbillon creations that would later become synonymous with F.P.Journe.
The World’s First Wristwatch Equipped with a Remontoir d’Égalité
While the tourbillon itself originated with Breguet, the Tourbillon Souverain represented a breakthrough of its own: bringing the remontoir d’égalité, a mechanism long associated with pocket watches, to collectors’ wrist for the first time. It would become not only a historic achievement for F.P.Journe but also an emblem of independent watchmaking. The remontoir d’égalité is a constant-force mechanism designed to deliver a more consistent supply of energy to the escapement, despite fluctuations in torque as the mainspring unwinds.
The first wristwatch prototype emerged in 1991. Combining a tourbillon with a remontoir d’égalité, François-Paul Journe presented the creation at the booth of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) during the Basel Fair. According to the fourth issue of <F.P.Journal (2025)>, Günter Blümlein, who was then leading prestigious watchmaking houses including IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, was so impressed by the prototype that he commissioned François-Paul Journe to develop a series of tourbillon watches. Although the project never came to fruition, the encounter helped pave the way for his first wristwatch commission, for a collector in Paris. In 1993, this led to the creation of the Tourbillon à Remontoir d’Égalité 15/93, an early wristwatch that would become part of the lineage leading to the Tourbillon Souverain. Handcrafted by François-Paul Journe himself, the watch holds exceptional historical significance. In 2024, it was offered at a Phillips auction in Geneva, where it achieved an extraordinary price of CHF 7.32 million. The result was a milestone not only in the recognition of François-Paul Journe as an individual watchmaker, but also in the wider appreciation of contemporary independent watchmaking. In 1999, François-Paul Journe adopted the souscription, or advance-subscription, model to secure the initial funding needed for production. This approach enabled him to introduce the Tourbillon Souverain Souscription, a series of just 20 pieces that marked the beginning of F.P.Journe’s production on a larger scale.
Tourbillon Souverain Ref. TV
Diameter 42 mm
Case Platinum or 18K 6N gold, 13.60 mm thick
Movement Manual-winding F.P.Journe Calibre 1519 in 18K rose gold, 21,600 vph (3 Hz), approximately 80-hour power reserve, 230 components, 32 jewels
Dial White gold enamel hour dial
Functions Hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator, vertical tourbillon, remontoir d’égalité, Natural Deadbeat Seconds
Strap/Bracelet Platinum or 18K 6N gold bracelet, or leather strap
The 20th Anniversary Edition of the Tourbillon Souverain
It has now been 27 years since the introduction of the Tourbillon Souverain. The timepiece featured on our cover is the Tourbillon Souverain Ref. TV, unveiled in 2019 to celebrate the collection’s 20th anniversary. Marking another milestone in its evolution, François-Paul Journe reimagined the traditional tourbillon by rotating its axis 90 degrees, transforming the conventional horizontal construction into a vertical one. In developing this creation, François-Paul Journe considered not only the hours a watch spends on the wrist, but also the time it spends off it. After all, a wristwatch often rests on a table or bedside surface for a considerable part of the day. Whether lying flat on a pin-buckle strap or resting on its side on a deployant clasp, the vertical tourbillon is designed to maintain consistent performance. By averaging out the effects of gravity across different resting positions, it helps minimize positional errors in the regulating organ and maintain stable precision. While retaining the previous model’s frequency of 3 Hz, the tourbillon cage now completes a full revolution in just 30 seconds, twice as fast as the original 60-second rotation. To further accentuate the beauty of the vertical tourbillon, a cone-shaped ring with a mirror-polished finish surrounds the cage, reflecting light and the movement of the rotating mechanism. This allows the tourbillon to be admired from a variety of angles. On the movement side, a concave reflective surface similarly directs light around the cage, enhancing its three-dimensional presence.
The architecture of the remontoir d’égalité can be observed through the caseback. This constant-force mechanism delivers a more consistent supply of energy to the escapement despite variations in torque as the mainspring unwinds. In particular, François-Paul Journe harnessed the remontoir’s once-per-second operation to make the seconds hand advance in precise one-second jumps, a function that F.P.Journe named “Natural Deadbeat Seconds.” Powering these complications is the manually wound Calibre 1519, crafted from 18K rose gold. Comprising 230 components and 32 jewels, the movement delivers an impressive 80-hour power reserve, nearly double the 42 hours offered by its predecessor, despite the complexity of its mechanisms. The winding state can be monitored through F.P.Journe’s distinctive reverse power-reserve indicator. To accommodate the vertical tourbillon, the case dimensions were increased to 42 mm in diameter and 13.6 mm in thickness. The two subdials, displaying the hours and minutes at 3 o’clock and the small seconds at 6 o’clock, are both cut from a single piece of Grand Feu enamel. Perhaps most noteworthy is the integration of the dial and movement mainplate into a unified construction, an architectural approach first introduced in François-Paul Journe’s inaugural tourbillon wristwatch prototype in 1991. The 18K 4N rose gold bridge forming part of the dial is adorned with Clous de Paris guilloché, while the mainplate is decorated with circular Geneva stripes.
A Quest for Perfection
Having remained steadfast in his own direction through the many challenges faced by the watch industry, François-Paul Journe has established himself as one of the few living watchmakers whose stature in independent horology is virtually unparalleled. In the early 1980s, when the repercussions of the Quartz Crisis continued to cast uncertainty over the future of mechanical watchmaking, François-Paul Journe turned to the past for inspiration. While many watchmakers were searching for ways to preserve their craft, he sought answers in the discoveries and inventions of earlier masters. Among the subjects that fascinated him were the phenomenon of resonance, first observed by Dutch scientist and inventor Christiaan Huygens and later explored and applied to horology by Abraham-Louis Breguet, and the tourbillon, designed to minimize positional errors caused by gravity. According to the fourth issue of <F.P.Journal (2020)>, François-Paul Journe developed a profound interest in resonance during the 1980s while participating in restoration work at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM) in Paris. There, he studied a double-pendulum regulator by Breguet et Fils, an instrument that would inspire years of further exploration. After approximately 15 years of research, François-Paul Journe succeeded in bringing this remarkable phenomenon to the wrist. In 2000, he unveiled the Chronomètre à Résonance, a wristwatch in which two independent balance wheels subtly influence one another and synchronize through resonance. This extraordinary creation was featured as the cover story of <GMT KOREA>’s December 2025 issue. François-Paul Journe also made horological history with his first Tourbillon à Remontoir d’Égalité wristwatch prototype in 1991. By adapting the remontoir, a historical mechanism long considered difficult to stabilize in a wristwatch, and combining it with a tourbillon, he demonstrated a viable and lasting solution to the challenge of advancing the tourbillon’s evolution.
Today, watchmakers continue to push the boundaries of the tourbillon, exploring constant-force mechanisms, multi-axis rotating constructions, increasingly slim profiles, and enhanced shock resistance. Against this backdrop, the Tourbillon Souverain, featured in the November 2026 issue of <GMT KOREA>, stands apart for two reasons: it was F.P.Journe’s first wristwatch to combine a tourbillon with a remontoir d’égalité, and it has continued to evolve in response to the practical realities of modern lifestyles and everyday wear. As previously discussed, François-Paul Journe was the first watchmaker to successfully incorporate a remontoir d’égalité into a wristwatch and combine it with a tourbillon. The mechanism periodically stores and releases energy through an auxiliary spring to maintain a more consistent delivery of force. Yet its need for precise control, together with the difficulty of achieving sufficient efficiency, had long limited its widespread adoption. In the seventh issue of <F.P.Journal (2023)>, François-Paul Journe observed that while tourbillons had existed before, no wristwatch had previously combined one with a remontoir d’égalité. He described his own creation as an “evolution of the tourbillon.” That evolution began with the first prototype in 1991. In 2003, F.P.Journe introduced Natural Deadbeat Seconds, ingeniously using the periodic action of the remontoir itself to drive the seconds hand without requiring a separate gear train. The result was a clearer, more rhythmic indication of passing time, achieved while minimizing additional energy consumption and potential losses in precision. In 2019, the 20th anniversary edition marked another significant step forward with the introduction of the vertical tourbillon, conceived to address the effects of gravity not only during wear but also when the watch is resting in different positions. At a time when watchmakers continue to confront the challenges of energy efficiency and precision, the Tourbillon Souverain remains a testament to François-Paul Journe’s willingness to tackle some of horology’s oldest technical problems ahead of his contemporaries. His distinctive solutions have helped point toward new possibilities for the future of watchmaking, and the evolution of his ideas continues to this day.
The Auction Market Affirms the F.P.Journe Era
In June 2026, an early F.P.Journe Chronomètre à Résonance “Souscription” No. 007, one of only 20 examples produced, achieved USD 13,922,000 at a Phillips auction in New York. The result established three records: for an F.P.Journe watch, for a watch by an independent watchmaker, and for a 21st-century wristwatch sold at auction. Lucas Pouëdras, Director of the F.P.Journe Boutique Paris, identified the founder’s ethical approach to fine watchmaking as one of the reasons behind such extraordinary auction results. F.P.Journe is widely admired for the rarity of its timepieces, produced in highly limited quantities. Yet François-Paul Journe is a watchmaker who, when pursuing the creation of a new high complication, is prepared to devote his full resources to its development, even if doing so means producing fewer existing popular models and extending their waiting lists. The brand’s growing stature has also had a considerable influence on the wider watch community and industry. Today, F.P.Journe attracts collectors and prominent figures from fields as diverse as cinema, fashion, finance, and technology. Their shared enthusiasm has helped foster a vibrant collecting culture, bringing together individuals who appreciate both the artistry of mechanical watchmaking and the distinctive vision of independent brands. As this dedicated community of collectors continues to expand, appreciation for F.P.Journe in the auction market has grown increasingly sophisticated. When evaluating a timepiece at auction, discerning collectors consider far more than its immediate desirability or rarity. They ask whether the watch possesses sufficient historical significance to return to the auction stage decades later, whether its originality and artistic merit will continue to resonate across generations, and whether it has been conceived and constructed to remain serviceable and operational long into the future. Beyond the watches themselves, the enduring value of an independent watchmaking house also depends on the continuity of its founding philosophy. Whether the founder’s vision can remain intact, and whether the brand is building a foundation capable of passing that spirit on to future generations, are equally important considerations in shaping its long-term legacy.
Building a Vertically Integrated Manufacture and Nurturing the Next Generation
Perhaps the clearest expression of F.P.Journe’s motto, “Invenit et Fecit”, lies in its vertically integrated manufacturing system. The brand’s commitment to in-house production stems from François-Paul Journe’s determination to bring his horological visions to life without external constraints or compromises. Founded as an independent watchmaking brand, F.P.Journe participated in the establishment of the specialist dial manufacturer Les Cadraniers de Genève the following year. In 2004, it invested in its own CNC machinery, strengthening its capacity to produce components for the 18K rose gold movements that would become a signature of the brand. The subsequent integration of the specialist case manufacturer Les Boîtiers de Genève further expanded its manufacturing capabilities, allowing F.P.Journe to exercise greater control over every stage of watch production while preserving its creative independence. In 2023, the brand established new facilities in Meyrin, Switzerland, dedicated to dial and case production. Today, F.P.Journe operates a vertically integrated manufacturing structure in which movements are designed, produced, assembled, and regulated at its Geneva manufacture, while dials and cases are crafted in specialized workshops. The brand continues to uphold the tradition of entrusting the complete assembly and regulation of each timepiece to a single watchmaker, while also cultivating traditional artisanal skills such as enamelling, guilloché, and intricate hand-finishing.
For François-Paul Journe, innovation means building the future upon the foundations of the past. This philosophy extends beyond his own creations to his commitment to supporting the next generation of watchmakers. Since 2015, F.P.Journe has supported the Young Talent Competition, initially organized by the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), helping emerging watchmakers develop their skills and pursue their ambitions. The brand subsequently assumed responsibility for organizing the competition, which now operates as the F.P.Journe Young Talent Competition, a platform dedicated to discovering and encouraging the next generation of independent watchmaking talent. In 2026, Japanese watchmaker Shin Ohno, who was featured in an interview in the July&August 2026 issue of <GMT KOREA>, received the award. The winner receives a CHF 50,000 grant jointly awarded by The Hour Glass and F.P.Journe to support the purchase of watchmaking tools and the development of future projects. During a visit to a Paris atelier for an interview published in the November 2025 issue of <GMT KOREA>, we met two previous winners of the F.P.Journe Young Talent Competition: Paris-based watchmaker Théo Auffret, one of the three 2018 laureates, and clockmaker Alexis Fruhauff, the 2025 laureate. Both expressed their admiration for François-Paul Journe’s continued efforts to support and advance the craft.
Preserving the Past, Building the Future
François-Paul Journe’s relationship with horological history offers another compelling expression of this philosophy. The Breguet Sympathique No. 1, offered at a Phillips auction in Geneva in May 2025, was originally created in 1991 by THA (Technique Horlogère Appliquée), the workshop François-Paul Journe operated alongside watchmakers including Vianney Halter and Denis Flageollet. A modern reinterpretation of the sympathique system conceived by Abraham-Louis Breguet some two centuries earlier, the creation brings together a master clock and a tourbillon wristwatch in a single interconnected system. Thirty-four years after its creation, François-Paul Journe acquired the remarkable piece at auction for CHF 5,505,000. In doing so, he reclaimed a work he had helped create as a young watchmaker more than three decades earlier. The piece is expected to become part of the collection of the future F.P.Journe Le Patrimoine, where it will eventually be presented to the public. F.P.Journe is preparing to open the museum in April 2027, near its manufacture in Geneva. For François-Paul Journe, however, the museum is not intended merely as a celebration of his personal achievements. Rather, it is envisioned as a space that traces the connections between his own creations, from 1983 to the present, and the rich traditions of watchmaking from the 15th to the 21st centuries, bringing these relationships to life through historical timepieces and horological artifacts. In essence, the museum will preserve both the classical watchmaking heritage that first inspired François-Paul Journe to pursue his craft and the history of his own creations, which began long before the establishment of the F.P.Journe brand. At the same time, it is intended to serve as a place where the past and future of horology can meet, fostering a deeper understanding of the craft and helping ensure that its knowledge, values, and traditions continue to be passed down to future generations.
New Challenges Behind Growing Recognition
As F.P.Journe’s reputation continues to grow, its success has also brought new challenges. According to the seventh issue of <F.P.Journal (2023)>, François-Paul Journe has expressed concern over the increasingly speculative trading of his timepieces. In response, he announced that the brand would cease producing limited series after 2024 and has also undertaken efforts to reorganize its distribution network. More recently, François-Paul Journe has addressed the growing presence of counterfeit watches bearing the F.P.Journe name, as well as inaccurate information circulating in the auction market, through statements published on the brand’s official website. He has urged collectors to exercise particular caution and to contact the brand directly before making a purchase. At a time when the value of a watch is increasingly judged by its market price or rarity alone, François-Paul Journe remains committed to protecting the intrinsic value of his creations and the authenticity of watch collecting. The cover stories published in the December 2025 and November 2026 issues of <GMT KOREA> have been reviewed and verified by the F.P.Journe team. For readers seeking official news and reliable information about the brand, we recommend consulting <F.P.Journal>, available on the F.P.Journe official website. The journal serves as an authoritative source of information, with its content reviewed by founder François-Paul Journe and the brand team before publication to ensure accuracy and reliability. Inquiries regarding the current collections, including the Tourbillon Souverain Ref. TV, introduced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Tourbillon Souverain, can also be directed to the brand’s official boutiques. For timepieces offered at auction or traded in the vintage market, collectors are strongly encouraged to contact F.P.Journe directly to verify their authenticity. The F.P.Journe team has emphasized that it regards watch enthusiasts as valued partners and remains committed to responding thoughtfully and attentively to their questions and inquiries. F.P.Journe currently operates official boutiques across Europe (three locations), the Americas (three locations), and the Middle East (two locations), while its Asian boutiques are located in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
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