Phillips to offer ultra rare pre-production F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance at The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV

This November, Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo will offer one of the earliest and most historically important F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance wristwatches ever to appear at auction.

Bearing the serial number 022/99R, this 38mm platinum Résonance with shiny pink gold dial occupies a singular place in the history of François-Paul Journe’s acclaimed dual-balance timepiece, for it is the earliest commercially numbered example of the Chronomètre à Résonance, dating to 1999 – a year before the model’s official launch in 2000. As such, it marks the moment one of modern watchmaking’s most revered creations first became commercially available.

Fresh to the market from its original owner after 27 years, it will be offered during The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV on 7–8 November at Hotel President, Geneva, with an estimate of CHF 500,000–1,000,000.

The Rise of F.P. Journe at Auction

Over the past decade, French watchmaker François-Paul Journe has steadily emerged as one of the most sought-after names in watch collecting. As collectors have increasingly pursued the earliest and rarest watches from the Geneva-based manufacture he founded in 1999, pieces once admired by a relatively small circle of enthusiasts have now become some of the most valuable and fiercely contested lots at auction.

Phillips has been at the forefront of that evolution. During the 2026 Spring Season alone, the auction house achieved a series of landmark results for F.P. Journe, including the US$13.9 million Chronomètre à Résonance “Souscription No. 007”, the US$6.3 million Chronomètre à Résonance “Souscription No. 18”, and the US$3 million Chronomètre à Résonance “Pisa” – all exceptional examples prized for their rarity and distinctive characteristics.

The present Chronomètre à Résonance belongs in that company, but for a different reason: its significance lies in the chronology of the model itself. As the earliest commercially numbered Chronomètre à Résonance, it takes collectors back to the very beginning of one of François-Paul Journe‘s signature creations.

The World’s First Wristwatch to Harness Resonance

Officially launched in 2000, the Chronomètre à Résonance was the world’s first wristwatch to harness the phenomenon of resonance. Drawing on observations made by the 18th-century horologist Antide Janvier and later explored by the great Abraham-Louis Breguet, François-Paul Journe adapted the principle for the wrist.

He did so by creating a movement in which two closely positioned balance wheels influence one another through the subtle vibrations they generate until they settle into the same rate of oscillation, improving the consistency of the watch’s timekeeping. More than a quarter of a century later, the Chronomètre à Résonance remains one of the defining watches of contemporary watchmaking.

Why Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R Matters

The significance of the present watch lies in the engraving on its caseback: 022/99R. The suffix “/99R” denotes that the case was ordered in 1999, a year before the model’s official launch. The serial number 022 tells an equally important story

The first 20 Chronomètre à Résonance watches, numbered 001–020/00R, were reserved for the original supporters of François-Paul Journe‘s Tourbillon Souverain “Souscription,” whose deposits helped finance his young manufacture. Journe retained serial number 021 as his personal presentation watch for clients and retailers, making 022 the earliest commercially numbered Chronomètre à Résonance.

The original owner was free to choose whichever serial number he wished and ultimately selected 022 because it matched the date of his birth. That decision left him with what is today the earliest commercially numbered Chronomètre à Résonance, a watch he has preserved in his collection for the past 27 years.

While Souscription and Pre-Souscription Chronomètre à Résonance watches have sporadically appeared at auction in recent years, the present watch belongs to the far rarer Pre-Production series. Produced in 1999, only an estimated ten Pre-Production examples are believed to exist, placing them among the rarest early F.P. Journe wristwatches.

As one of these elusive Pre-Production examples, it also displays many of the characteristics most coveted by collectors of early F.P. Journe watches, including shallow caseback engravings, an exceptionally rare shiny pink gold dial with silver-toned subdials, and a brass movement.

This Is Where the Story Begins

Commenting on the watch, Alexandre Ghotbi, Deputy Chairman & Head of Watches, Europe and Middle East and Tiffany To, Senior International Watch Specialist and Head of Sale jointly said:

“At Phillips Watches, we have had the privilege of offering some of the most historically important pieces born from the mastermind of François-Paul Journe, and it is always with a sense of exhilaration that we bring to the market one of his earlier pieces.

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. 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.”

The F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R will be offered during The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV on 7–8 November 2026, with a public preview during the days preceding the sale.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium; prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium.