Produced in 1999, a year before the Chronomètre à Résonance officially debuted, the earliest commercially numbered example is expected to fetch up to $1.75 million when it goes under the hammer
The auction house describes the F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R as one of the earliest and most historically significant F.P. Journe watches ever to appear at auction.
The 38mm platinum watch with a pink gold dial is the earliest commercially numbered example produced in 1999—a year before the Chronomètre à Résonance officially debuted in 2000. It is being offered publicly for the first time in its 27-year history by its original owner.
It will be offered by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV on November 7–8, where it is expected to sell for CHF 500,000–1,000,000 (AUD $880,000 to $1.75 million).
Over the past decade, French watchmaker François-Paul Journe has become one of the most sought-after names in watch collecting. After founding his Geneva-based manufacture in 1999, his watches were initially admired by a small circle of enthusiasts. Today, they rank among the most valuable and fiercely contested lots at auction.
Phillips has helped drive that market. During its 2026 spring season, the auction house sold the Chronomètre à Résonance “Souscription No. 007” for US$13.9 million, “Souscription No. 18” for US$6.3 million and the Chronomètre à Résonance “Pisa” for US$3 million.
According to Phillips, the 022/99R belongs in that company for a different reason: it is the earliest commercially numbered Chronomètre à Résonance.
Officially introduced in 2000, the Chronomètre à Résonance was the world’s first wristwatch to harness the phenomenon of resonance. Building on observations by 18th-century horologist Antide Janvier and later explored by Abraham-Louis Breguet, Journe adapted the principle for a wristwatch by placing two balance wheels close enough together that their vibrations influence one another until they synchronize, improving the consistency of the watch’s timekeeping.
Phillips calls the model one of the defining watches of contemporary watchmaking.
The significance of this particular watch lies in its engraving. The suffix “/99R” indicates the case was ordered in 1999, a year before the model’s official launch, while the serial number “022” identifies it as the earliest commercially numbered Chronomètre à Résonance.
The first 20 examples, numbered 001–020/00R, were reserved for supporters of François-Paul Journe’s Tourbillon Souverain souscription program, whose deposits helped finance the fledgling manufacture. Journe retained serial number 021 for himself.
According to Phillips, the original owner selected serial number 022 because it matched his birth date, making it the earliest commercially numbered Chronomètre à Résonance.
While souscription and pre-souscription Chronomètre à Résonance watches have appeared at auction in recent years, Phillips says this example is even rarer. Produced in 1999 as part of a pre-production series, only about 10 examples are believed to exist.
The watch also features several characteristics prized by collectors of early F.P. Journe watches, including shallow caseback engravings, an exceptionally rare polished pink gold dial with silver-toned subdials and a brass movement.
“What we have here with the present Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R is not simply an early Résonance. It is, in all likelihood, the very first one delivered, the piece that proved a young independent watchmaker’s most audacious complication worked on the wrist, in the real world,” said Alexandre Ghotbi, Phillips deputy chairman and head of watches for Europe and the Middle East, and Tiffany To, Phillips senior international watch specialist and head of sale, in a joint statement.
“Everything that followed—the acclaim, the waiting lists, the mythology around Journe—traces back to this watch. Pre-production examples of this caliber essentially never surface. To have the earliest number is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for anyone who is serious about the history of independent watchmaking.”
This story was originally published on forbes.com.
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