Twenty years ago, when senior watchmaker François-Paul Journe produced Chronomètreà Résonance, it was the first watch to achieve natural chronograph resonance through a dual movement. This dual movement can synchronize itself to improve accuracy.
The concept of mechanical resonance is the tendency of an oscillating object to absorb more energy at a specific frequency. You can learn more about it in our Résonance model retrospective article. Abraham-Louis Breguet (Abraham-Louis Breguet) was the first movement to resonate in pocket watches, but when Journe became the first watchmaker to conceive this idea in a watch, it was modern An extraordinary achievement in the watchmaking industry.
“I have been interested in resonance since 1982,” Jon told Rob Report. “I was responsible for installing [Abraham-Louis] Breguet’s dual regulator. It caught my attention because no one really knew it. That’s how I thought about putting it in a watch.”
When he first tried to make a watch (the second watch he made), he realized that the performance of the watch was not good enough, so he put it on hold for 15 years until he gained further experience. He had been making custom watches until 1994, but when he started planning a complete series, he thought it was time to revisit his early projects.
Jon said: “I decided to take the watch back and make this failure a success. This is how the first Résonance was born.” When he started creating, he kept the movement in a plastic box and put it in his pocket. To test its accuracy. “Whenever I walk, I will take it out of my pocket and put it on my ears to see if it will resonate. It has been running well for a few months, but encountered some difficulties, but a good friend of mine tried to inspire My morale. He told me, “It doesn’t matter whether it works or not; he keeps improving this idea. By 1999, he launched a prototype at Baselworld, Switzerland’s largest watch fair, and released the first in 2000. Résonance.
Now, to celebrate his most famous timepiece in two decades, Journe has updated the Résonance movement, adding two constant force mechanisms to further improve its accuracy.
Jon said: “In the end, it’s all about precision.” “The concept of Résonance is to make the two balance wheels resonate to eliminate the influence of wrist movement. Therefore, the idea of integrating the constant force mechanism is to bring higher Accuracy, because the fluctuation of the isostatic force/barrel spring will actually be offset by the constant force mechanism, and higher accuracy can be obtained in the watch over time.”
Journe said the improvements provided by the new constant force mechanism allow zero deviations in accuracy. The previous Resonance timepiece changed 5 to 6 seconds in 24 hours. To anyone who is not a hobbyist, this may sound trivial, but in the field of watchmaking, this is a major timekeeping achievement. Jon said: “The ultimate game of watchmaking is to fight the decline in precision.”
When Resonance debuts, can he make some new mechanical improvements? Of course it can, but Journe said it is not commercially feasible. When he introduced the watch twenty years ago, the maximum size of the timepiece was usually 38 mm. Jon said: “Then add an extra layer, I have to make the cheap swiss watches 40mm or 42mm larger.” “It is okay to have a watch of this size today, but it will be too big at that time, and I can’t do anything. Sell.”
However, although he continued to improve the mechanics of Resonance, he said that he always started with design. Modifications have also been made here. It still has two dials, but the appearance is closer to Journe’s Astronomical Souverain style, which was launched last year, because it has only one barrel to distribute energy. The new Chronomètreà Résonance watch uses a redesigned platinum or 18-carat 6N gold case. The crown is now set at 2 o’clock instead of 12 o’clock. The left dial rotates the crown clockwise, and the right dial rotates the crown counterclockwise. You can reset the seconds while pulling the second crown at 4 o’clock. The dial has been redesigned and made of gold, with two identical silver guilloche hour and minute scales, one indicating 12 hours at 3 o’clock and the other indicating 24 hours at 9 o’clock.
The 42-hour power reserve indicator is located at 12 o’clock and the pointer is placed vertically instead of the 11 o’clock eccentric position of the previous model. In the new version of Résonance, the hours, minutes and seconds are merged with the hollow holes and you can see the differential bridge, which, together with the barrel spring, helps to distribute energy between the two gear trains. The dial is made of red or white gold, and the chassis with the 2-hour chronograph is white silver with a Clous de Parisguilloché pattern. It can be paired with a leather strap or a gold or platinum bracelet.
Undoubtedly, this is a major development in the history of Chronomètreà Resonance, and it will be indispensable for loyal watchmakers. It is not restricted, but, like most watchmakers’ works, it will be difficult to obtain. New versions can be difficult to obtain, and collectors sometimes buy in bulk to get a coveted watch. Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary said at a recent VIP collector event held in the brand’s Miami boutique in February that to get the boutique version of Journe he wanted, he had to reach an agreement and buy a few watches immediately.
O’Leary said: “I have a lot of watches, but I have never bought four watches from one brand at a time.” “Every time I wear a pair of F.P. Journe and watch people stop me and say, “What is that? “They are incredible timepieces.” Another collector from Miami said that he owns 14 Patek Philippe application timepieces (a watchmaker of a highly regarded watch company), but every time he wants When he gets the FP, he still has to beg. Jon is on his wrist.
So, how can Jon maintain his status as a niche brand while satisfying his growing premium collectors club? Jon smiled and said, “This is a problem.” “Many watch brands want to have one.”
But he said that he has already worked hard on the next feat, so collectors should have more Résonance developments in order to be worth looking forward to in the next few years.
“My goal is to work on a watch without friction, because if you don’t have friction, you don’t need to use oil, and this watch can be used with oil, and over time, the escapement will use it And affect the accuracy of the watch. So for me, the next challenge will be to propose a different solution.” Jon said. Jon said: “I have been working on a new escapement that does not require oil, but it is too early to use it for this watch.” “Now it is used on a replica watches review with two escapements. It’s too risky. Currently, I’m trying it on the Chronomètre Souverain movement. Once I’m satisfied that it works, I will implement it in Resonance.”
Journe revealed quite a lot of news, which will effectively eliminate the need to repair the oil in the agency. Another famous watchmaker, Roger W. Smith, has also been working hard to study the use of escapement, which can eliminate oil consumption, but if Journe is the first to produce timepieces It will be big news to realize innovation on the Internet.