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Hands-On The F. P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Vertical

The Tourbillon Souverain Vertical celebrates a long rich chapter, and may signal the start of another.


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The first reaction I had to the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical was confusion – confusion on a number of levels, including not quite understanding the purpose of the oddly oriented tourbillon, and as well, confusion as to why François-Paul had departed rather noticeably from his famously stubborn insistence that a watch – a proper watch – should be thin. Certainly, the previous Tourbillon Souverain watches have all stuck to the program; the standard model is 40mm in diameter and 9.9mm thick, in contrast to the 42mm x 13.6mm dimensions of the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical. However, as it turns out the thickness is of course the necessary consequence of the movement construction, and that in turn is the result of a very clever idea – once you understand the rationale behind the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical, you also understand that the thickness isn't arbitrary, which puts the uncharacteristic-for-Journe heft of the watch in a new light.

Certainly the watch looms large to the eye, though in the hand and on the wrist the impression of size is somewhat muted. You don't get a sense of bulk per se, however, and I think this is due to the generally quite pleasing arrangement of the dial, which flirts with asymmetry without losing its sense of balance, as well as the beautiful finishing of the exposed metal surfaces (as Stephen Pulvirent mentions in his Introducing coverage, where you'll also find full specs and pricing, the dial – aside from the grand feu enamel sub-dials for the hours and dead-beat seconds – is actually the movement baseplate). The relatively large diameter and thickness serve the purpose of creating an impression, not of unwieldy thickness, but rather, of depth that invites the eye to explore.

The sub-dials are executed in grand feu enamel.

The tourbillon rests inside a mirror polished aperture in the dial.

The 30 second tourbillon is arranged perpendicular to the plane of the movement, and with the axis of the balance and cage at right angles to the crown. The watch is also fitted with a remontoire, which is a constant-force mechanism. The purpose of a remontoire is to provide an unvarying amount of torque to the balance, so as to ensure that the balance amplitude is always optimal (the reduction in balance amplitude that occurs as a mainspring unwinds can result in a loss of precision). 

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The device does so by means of a small, spiral spring, usually mounted on the fourth wheel of the going train, which is rewound at intervals by the mainspring. In the case of the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical, the remontoire spring is rewound once per second; this drives the dead-beat seconds hand, which advances once per second. Journe refers to this as a "natural" dead-beat seconds. There are several ways of making a seconds hand tick once per second, some of which can produce disruptions of precision; however, as driving the seconds hand via the re-arming of the remontoire spring means the dead-beat seconds is out of the power flow to the balance, this is not an issue in the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical.

Lying flat, the tourbillon is in a vertical plane.

The orientation of the tourbillon, in both its vertical and horizontal planes, is intended as an aid to precision. During the day, if the watch is on the wrist and your arms are by your side (and also when you're working at a keyboard) the tourbillon will be oriented in the vertical plane. Off the wrist and on your nightstand, the two likeliest scenarios are that the watch will be either dial up, if the strap has a pin buckle, or crown up (on edge) if the strap has a deployant buckle. Because the tourbillon is perpendicular to the movement plate, and has its axis at right angles to the crown, it will remain vertical in both positions. 

The watch resting crown up; the tourbillon remains vertically oriented. 

This means that the tourbillon will always be in a vertical position, and thus, the balance will oscillate at the single average rate a tourbillon creates in the vertical positions, without the rate being altered by any potential mismatch between the rate in the vertical positions and the rate in the flat positions. Of course, the tourbillon will not be perfectly vertically oriented at all times; depending on your movements it will be temporarily displaced from the vertical plane occasionally. However, it will in general be in the vertical plane, or at least a close approximation to it. You'll note that if the tourbillon had been differently arranged – if, for instance, the axis of the carriage were aligned with the crown instead of at right angles to it – it would not be in the vertical plane with the watch resting on edge (crown up). 

The movement finishing is excellent – Journe has generally given his movements an excellent functional and decorative finish but has tended to avoid the more overt pyrotechnics exhibited by some other companies that invest a great deal of time and effort in producing a jewel-like finish on their movements. The caliber 1519, however, is rather more unashamedly overt in its beauty; the contrast of all the black polished steel elements with the gold movement plate and the deep violet of the train wheel rubies, is somewhat reminiscent of high-grade English pocket watches, with their gilt plates, and quite spectacular. The tourbillon is nested in a concavity that's been brought to a bright mirror polish, the better to aid the eye in admiring the movement of the carriage.

Journe's first Tourbillon Souverain was made in 1999, and after twenty years, it is perhaps the Journe watch most strongly identified with the company and with the man (although there's a case to be made that the Resonance is at least as iconic). They have, however, always had physical dimensions that reflect Journe's belief that a watch should represent a very French ideal: Thinner is better, and a watch cannot possess real elegance if it is too thick.

However, this is not a watch that is thick because of desire to create any particular visuals; the dimensions of the watch aren't driven by design divorced from function. The watch has the size, and particularly the thickness, that it has because it implements a rather brilliantly simple idea – one which seems in hindsight so obvious that you wonder why no one thought of it before, until you realize that it takes quite a lot more out-of-the-box creativity than you usually find in the rather conservative and incremental art of watchmaking. The fact that the physical dimensions of the watch are really organic to that idea, and therefore so directly connected to the history and functionality of the tourbillon, makes those dimensions not a hindrance to enjoying the watch, but rather a celebration of ingenuity and insight.

The Tourbillon Souverain Vertical also makes me wonder what might lie ahead – especially as the Tourbillon Souverain will now no longer be produced. If Journe, as he apparently is, is open to the idea of a watch of more generous size should that size be in the service of functionality, it's possible he may be, in years to come, more open to the notion of creating larger watches that support complications he hasn't yet investigated. In the meantime, he has, for the 20th anniversary of the Tourbillon Souverain family, done something most difficult – he's created a really original take on the tourbillon.

Update: F. P. Journe has confirmed that the Tourbillon Souverain will no longer be produced, and will be replaced by the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical.

For more on the watchmaking of François-Paul Journe and the Tourbillon Souverain family, visit FPJourne.com.