Phillips Le Concours de Complexité: Single Owner Online Auction, 13-20 January 2023

Hong Kong – December 2022 - Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo is pleased to announce Le Concours de Complexité: Single Owner Online Auction, offering a selection of innovative and rare timepieces by the famed independent watchmaker F.P. Journe from an important private collector. “Le Concours de Complexité” means “competition of complexity” which truly represents François-Paul Journe’s dauntless watch making philosophy on challenging the most daring horological frontier from his vast knowledge and expertise of the past to demonstrate his determination to create the most precise and innovative timepieces. Taking place on Phillips.com and Phillips App from 13-20 January 2023, the online sale comprising 11 F.P. Journe watches offers an exciting opportunity for the international collecting community to acquire exceptional models from this highly respected brand.

Thomas Perazzi, Head of Watches, Asia, Phillips, said: “Following the success of Phillips’ first online auction dedicated to a single owner collection featuring timepieces from The Armoury’s Mark Cho, we are honoured to be entrusted with the sale of this F.P. Journe collection formed by a visionary collector who has acquired timepieces with the highest quality and rarity over the years of collecting that embodies his vision and passion for horology. François -Paul Journe has long been admired for its innovation and brilliance for the design of his timepieces, since the brand’s inception in 1999 with remarkable pieces such as the Tourbillon Souverain, Chronomètre à Résonance and Octa Reserve that has gained fervent excitement amongst collectors all over the world. We look forward to kicking off 2023 with this tightly curated assemblage of fine and rare F.P. Journe examples from the prestigious single owner.”

Highlights from Le Concours de Complexité: Single Owner Online Auction

Leading the sale is a unicorn-piece black-dialled Sonnerie Souverain in stainless steel, offered in excellent overall condition with its original accessories. With approximately four pieces leaving the F.P. Journe workshop each year, only 50 examples were made during the 13-year production run. Fitted with an active striking instrument that chimes the quarters and hours without manual activation. Adding to its novelty, this grand-strike wristwatch and minute repeater is truly one-of-a-kind, boasting an exceptional black dial normally reserved for the ultra-exclusive Black Label series, customised to the taste of its connoisseur.

Like most F.P. Journe creations from this era, the present Ruthenium Chronomètre á Résonance is fitted with an in-house brass movement. However, what sets this example apart from the standard issue is its ruthenium-coated manual-winding cal. 1499 which can be observed via its sapphire caseback. Manufactured between 2001 and 2005, the Ruthenium Chronométre à Résonance concludes F.P. Journe’s final chapter on producing brass movements before moving on to 18K pink gold entirely. The series is certainly a sight to behold, boasting a striking grey dial forged from ruthenium-coated white gold. As a dual-time wristwatch, the two time-zones are presented on separate silver guilloche sub dials that show the hours, minutes and seconds in a 12-hour display. The present example is numbered 2 of a limited edition of 99 pieces.

F.P. Journe introduced his inaugural Tourbillon Souverain in 1999, featuring a world premiere remontoire system, and by 2004, he completely transformed how people see tourbillons with an innovative addition of a deadbeat seconds. Produced between 2003 and 2018, this discontinued reference was offered in pink gold and platinum with just over a hundred examples manufactured. The tourbillon is deliberately placed in line with the hours and minutes subdial, which emphasises its status as a complication and suggests it is an equal counterpart to the time display. The aperture on the left invites its wearer to peek into the fantastic movement within, along with its striking perlage finishes. Flanked between the two subdials, the deadbeat seconds is granted center stage, complementing the power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock and harmonises the frosted white gold dial. With unparalleled beauty and complexity, the present example is a second-generation Tourbillon Souverain, also, the last of its kind, from 2017.

A further highlight is a possibly unique platinum 20th Anniversary Résonance, boasting a pink gold “Salmon” dial. The contrast of colours between the case and its dial creates the most delicious configuration, inaccessible to the public to date. In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Chronomètre à Resonance, François-Paul Journe improved his already-brilliant mechanical marvel with the latest 2020 version by adding the Remontoire d’Egalité, another ingenious signature of his. The 2020 edition of the Chronomètre à Résonance is driven by a brand-new inhouse cal. 1520, equipped with a single barrel spring that generates power for two movements. Along with the replacement of its beating heart, the present Résonance is framed in a redesigned case with the winding and setting crown sit at 2 o’clock. Unlike its predecessor with the cal. 1499.3, the crown is no longer hidden between the lugs at 12 o’clock, which allows the wearer to wind and set the watch at ease.

Le Concours de Complexité: Single Owner Online Auction: 13 January – 20 January 2023

https://www.phillips.com/auctions/auction/HK080223

Singapore preview

Location: Mandala Club, 31 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089845

Date and Time: 11 January 2023, 12 pm-6 pm (Singapore time)