For the 20th Anniversary of the Chronomètre à Résonance, F.P.Journe introduces a version with a special dial that will be produced only during the year 2019. The hour dial at 3h maintains an
analog 12 hour indication while the dial at 9h features for this edition an analog 24 hour indication. The 18K rose Gold mechanism with its two synchronized beating mechanical hearts is visible through a sapphire crystal caseback.
The 2019 edition of the Chronomètre à Résonance is available in two versions: one with a Platinum case and white Gold dial, the other entirely in 18K 6N Gold. The two dials in Silver guilloche Clous de Paris indicating the hours and minutes can also be set on two different time zones.
The Chronomètre à Résonance promises to be one of the most precise mechanical watches in contemporary watch making. Any animate body transmits a vibration to its environment. When another body picks up this vibration, it absorbs its energy and begins to vibrate at the same frequency. The first is called the “exciter” and the second the “resonator”. This physical phenomenon known as “resonance” is an integral part of our daily life and yet is hardly noticeable. When we are looking for a program on the radio, it crackles until the chosen wavelengths meet those of the transmitter: only then do they harmonize to begin resonating together. Resonance concerns all fields including those related to mechanical engineering, music and human beings, as confirmed by musician Keith Jarrett: “This is particularly obvious in music, since lutes and sitars, for example, have strings whose only reason for existence is to vibrate by resonance; the musician never touches them, despite their proximity to the strings that are plucked.”
Each of the two balances of the Chronomètre à Résonance alternately serves as exciter and resonator. When the two balances are in motion, they enter into sympathy due to the effect of resonance and begin naturally beating in opposition. The two balances thus rest against each other, giving more inertia to their movement. This result is possible only if the difference in frequency between them does not exceed five seconds per day of cumulated difference in six positions.
Technical Specifications
Movement: Calibre 1499.3 in 18K rose Gold
Power Reserve: 40 hours ± 2
Case: Platinum or 18K 6N Gold, diameter: 40.00 mm / total height: 9.00 mm