FP Journe TN Tourbillon Souverain

One could argue whether the Resonance or Tourbillon is FP Journe’s signature, but it’s certainly one of the pair. The Tourbillon Souverain ‘TN’—Tourbillon Nouveau — debuted in April 2004 and ran until 2018, when the Tourbillon Souverain Vertical and its calibre 1519 succeeded. It replaced the brass-movement Reference T directly, built in four series between 1999 and 2003, and became the longest-running tourbillon Journe has made. Because it came in right after brass, it’s often overlooked. It is also the last to carry its cage in the traditional horizontal plane, which is much of why it now reads as the classical statement of the model rather than a step toward one. It's very likely there are only around 800 TNs, so it’s quite a rare thing overall.

Mechanically Calibre 1403 is an evolution. It replaced the rhodium-plated brass 1498 with pink gold plates and bridges, part of the switch to gold movements Journe made in 2004 at considerable investment. The remontoir d'égalité carried over but was put to visible work: it here drove a dead-beat seconds at six, so the one-second charge of the constant-force device is displayed rather than inferred from. Journe's own summary of the redesign at launch read, ‘only the tourbillon cage survived; everything else was re-engineered’.

That matters because the Reference T was the first wristwatch to pair a tourbillon with a remontoir d'égalité, and the TN made the argument legible. The dial was reorganized accordingly: tourbillon at nine, hours and minutes at three, power reserve at twelve, dead seconds at six, all in a 9.9mm case. As a result, all three main elements joined through a tangent in the frame rather than sitting separated.

Both sizes were available. The 38mm case traces to Journe's first wristwatch of 1991 and defined the Reference T; 40mm was added across the collection in 2001 to meet demand for larger cases, so the TN could be ordered either way from launch until 2015, when the 38mm was retired and sent off with 38 steel 'Historic Size' sets. Afterwards, 40mm only—38mm TNs are meaningfully scarcer. All are desired. And as a foot note for collectors it’s worth knowing stone dials and Régence both exist here. It is a lovely evolution with much to collect and learn about. 

This example looks excellent overall. It comes with its full kit including all accessories.