An ultra-slim and extremely light minute repeater.
After the Grande Sonnerie, the Minute Repeater is the most complex and sophisticated of horological complications, one that demands the utmost, both technical and artistic, virtuosity from the watchmakers in charge of the assembling. An original construction was necessary to realize this ultra-slim movement of barely 4.50 mm thick.
By looking at it, one would never guess the complicated mechanism hidden behind it. The simple aspect of its silver guilloché dial, identical to that of the Chronomètre Souverain, hardly lets foresee the discrete window placed between 9 and 10 o’clock. It features the hammers striking the gongs at the hour, the quarters and the minutes, which can be activated by pressing a delicate indented slide on the left side of the case. This redevelopment has merited the application of two patents.
Its ultra-flat movement in 18k gold with its case in steel provide an astonishing lightness to the watch for a weight of only 69.6 grams, strap included. It makes the Repetition Souveraine one of the lightest complications in the world.
For his striking watches, F.P.Journe has exceptionally abandoned precious metals such as gold and platinum for a noble cause: to ensure the best possible striking tone that the use of the crystalline structure of steel makes optimal.
Two key technical developments have enabled François-Paul Journe to construct a sweet sounding ultra-slim repeater movement. The first is the flat gong, first seen on the F.P.Journe Sonnerie Souveraine, which produces a louder and clearer sound than traditional gongs.
The second is an innovative system of striking racks and strike selection mechanisms which take up much less space than conventional strike mechanisms.
An inertia regulator controls the speed of the chimes, thus eliminating the background noise usually associated with traditional air regulators.
The incomparable style of François-Paul Journe has sometimes been copied, but his highly inventive technique is far more difficult to duplicate. With that in mind, after completing his majestic Sonnerie Souveraine, a watch rating 10/10 on the scale of complications, François-Paul Journe decided to follow up with yet another incredibly complex timepiece, the first ultra-slim minute repeater.
Available in: Spiga
