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Lot Essay
F.P. Journe’s steel cased Grande and Petite Sonnerie Minute Repeater Souveraine is a masterpiece that very few watchmakers in the world are capable of producing. In recognition of F.P. Journe’s incredible achievement, the Sonnerie Souveraine won the tremendous accolade of First Prize in the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in 2006. Produced from 2006-2018, all pieces were made in stainless steel, except 1 or 2 pieces made in pink gold with special dials. Only four pieces of this extremely exclusive model were made each year for a total of less than 60 pieces made and consequently it is very rarely offered at international auction. Presented in superb and pristine condition, the present watch, ‘baptized’ with the original owner’s name, is accompanied by the original steel full bracelet, Certificate and full set of original accessories.
In 2008, François-Paul Journe was asked what had been his greatest challenge in watchmaking so far….
“The creation of the Grande Sonnerie watch was quite a challenge. The Grand Strike is the most complicated of all watch-making functions. My version required 10 patents (which is the source of the “Invenit” (invent) part of our motto) and six years of research and development to make (the “Fecit” (made) portion of the motto). The F.P. Journe Grande Sonnerie has no equal in the whole world. It is the most complete and the most achieved timepiece ever made”.
The genius of the Sonnerie Souveraine is its practical functionality, The fact that François-Paul Journe chose a stainless steel case for this model because of its better acoustic properties demonstrates that he places technical excellence and perfection of function first and foremost. The Grande and Petite Sonnerie striking complication itself is unquestionably the highest of all complications and represents the very finest watchmaking skills. In fact, so difficult was this complication to construct that it was not until as late as 1992 that the first ever Grande and Petite Sonnerie wristwatch was successfully created by another watchmaking genius, Philippe Dufour. Combining a quarter striking mechanism with a minute repeater, it provides an audible striking as it passes each quarter hour, and a minute repeating function is available on demand. The gold caliber 1505 manual winding movement for the Sonnerie Souveraine was the first F.P. JOURNE movement to be completely manufactured in their very own workshops in Geneva, it takes one watchmaker more than three months to assemble the 582 separate components. Both the case and dial are also manufactured in-house. To activate the minute repeater, the button at 2 o’clock is pressed, for selection of Grande Sonnerie / Petite Sonnerie or silent mode, the button at 4 o’clock is used along with the corresponding indicator sector on the dial to select the desired mode. Demonstrating how very personal each example of the Sonnerie Souveraine is to both François-Paul Journe and its subsequent fortunate owner, the Sonnerie Souveraine does not have a serial number, but is instead engraved with the owner's name on both the case and the movement and inscribed on the Certificate. According to F.P. Journe, such personalization “gives it a soul, a personality, and an identity – all things a watch should have”. Furthermore, each watch was provided with extra movement parts so that the integrity of the watch can be maintained long into the future.
In 2008, François-Paul Journe was asked what had been his greatest challenge in watchmaking so far….
“The creation of the Grande Sonnerie watch was quite a challenge. The Grand Strike is the most complicated of all watch-making functions. My version required 10 patents (which is the source of the “Invenit” (invent) part of our motto) and six years of research and development to make (the “Fecit” (made) portion of the motto). The F.P. Journe Grande Sonnerie has no equal in the whole world. It is the most complete and the most achieved timepiece ever made”.
The genius of the Sonnerie Souveraine is its practical functionality, The fact that François-Paul Journe chose a stainless steel case for this model because of its better acoustic properties demonstrates that he places technical excellence and perfection of function first and foremost. The Grande and Petite Sonnerie striking complication itself is unquestionably the highest of all complications and represents the very finest watchmaking skills. In fact, so difficult was this complication to construct that it was not until as late as 1992 that the first ever Grande and Petite Sonnerie wristwatch was successfully created by another watchmaking genius, Philippe Dufour. Combining a quarter striking mechanism with a minute repeater, it provides an audible striking as it passes each quarter hour, and a minute repeating function is available on demand. The gold caliber 1505 manual winding movement for the Sonnerie Souveraine was the first F.P. JOURNE movement to be completely manufactured in their very own workshops in Geneva, it takes one watchmaker more than three months to assemble the 582 separate components. Both the case and dial are also manufactured in-house. To activate the minute repeater, the button at 2 o’clock is pressed, for selection of Grande Sonnerie / Petite Sonnerie or silent mode, the button at 4 o’clock is used along with the corresponding indicator sector on the dial to select the desired mode. Demonstrating how very personal each example of the Sonnerie Souveraine is to both François-Paul Journe and its subsequent fortunate owner, the Sonnerie Souveraine does not have a serial number, but is instead engraved with the owner's name on both the case and the movement and inscribed on the Certificate. According to F.P. Journe, such personalization “gives it a soul, a personality, and an identity – all things a watch should have”. Furthermore, each watch was provided with extra movement parts so that the integrity of the watch can be maintained long into the future.