Phillips is about to bring to auction a major piece in the history of contemporary independent watchmaking. Bearing the number 022/99R, this pre-production Chronomètre à Résonance signed F.P. Journe is reportedly the first numbered example destined to be sold. Kept since 1999 by its original owner, it will make its first appearance on the market at The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, held on 7 and 8 November 2026 in Geneva.
More than a rare watch, this timepiece marks the decisive passage between horological experimentation and the commercial birth of one of François-Paul Journe’s most emblematic creations.
On this page
- A Chronomètre à Résonance predating the official launch
- 022/99R: a number that tells an entire story
- Resonance applied to the wristwatch
- An aesthetic that became instantly identifiable
- The spectacular rise of F.P. Journe at auction
- A founding piece of contemporary independent watchmaking
- See you in Geneva in November 2026
- Frequently asked questions
A Chronomètre à Résonance predating the official launch
The Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R comes in a 38 mm platinum case, paired with a very rare polished rose-gold dial punctuated by two silvered sub-dials. Its hand-wound movement still features brass plates and bridges, a characteristic typical of the manufacture’s earliest pieces, before 18-carat rose-gold movements became standard.
The watch was reportedly produced in 1999, one year before the official presentation of the Chronomètre à Résonance in 2000. It belongs to a pre-production series said to comprise only about a dozen examples. Among its distinctive features are also a shallow engraving on the case back and several aesthetic details specific to the very first F.P. Journe pieces. The timepiece remained for twenty-seven years in the hands of the man who had acquired it directly in 1999. Presented on the market for the first time, it will be offered with an estimate between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Swiss francs, excluding fees.
022/99R: a number that tells an entire story
The historical importance of this watch can be read in the reference engraved on its case back: 022/99R.
The suffix “99R” indicates that the case was ordered in 1999. The number 022, for its part, occupies a decisive place in the model’s chronology. The first twenty Chronomètres à Résonance, numbered 001 to 020, were destined for the collectors who had supported the Tourbillon Souverain “Souscription” project. Thanks to the deposits paid by these early clients, François-Paul Journe had been able to help finance his young company.
Number 021 is then said to have been kept by the watchmaker as a presentation piece for his clients and retailers. Number 022 thus becomes the first Chronomètre à Résonance numbered to be sold as part of a conventional sale. Its owner had then been given the possibility of choosing his number. He selected 022, corresponding to his birthday, probably without imagining that he was bringing into his collection a fundamental milestone in the history of F.P. Journe.
Resonance applied to the wristwatch
The principle of resonance finds its first scientific observations in Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century. It was then studied and applied to horology by Antide Janvier, and later by Abraham-Louis Breguet. When two oscillators of close frequencies are placed a short distance apart, the tiny vibrations they transmit to their environment can gradually lead them to synchronise their rhythm. In a watch, this interaction allows the two balance wheels to correct one another and to improve the stability of the rate.
François-Paul Journe began working on this phenomenon as early as 1983. After several years of research, he managed to miniaturise the principle in a wristwatch. Officially presented in 2000, the Chronomètre à Résonance uses two independent regulating organs, placed close enough to one another to enter into resonance without direct mechanical transmission. The manufacture still presents this architecture today as the only application, in a wristwatch, of natural resonance without any mechanical link between the two oscillators.
This construction also offers a reading of two time zones. On the earliest versions, two gear trains and two balance wheels operate side by side, driven by two barrels. Their proximity allows the two regulators to gradually enter into sympathy and to recover their synchronisation after a disturbance.
An aesthetic that became instantly identifiable
Despite the complexity of its architecture, the Chronomètre à Résonance retains a visual expression of great restraint. The two symmetrically arranged hour dials structure the whole, while two small seconds occupy their lower part. The power reserve appears discreetly in the upper part of the dial. The signature “F.P. Journe – Invenit et Fecit” recalls that the movement was invented and made according to the watchmaker’s own design.
On the 022/99R example, the contrast between the platinum case, the polished rose-gold dial, the silvered sub-dials and the blued hands gives rise to a particularly refined composition. The balance of the dial almost conceals the mechanical radicalism playing out a few millimetres below.
The spectacular rise of F.P. Journe at auction
Long reserved for a circle of well-informed enthusiasts, the early watches of François-Paul Journe now rank among the most sought-after pieces in independent watchmaking. The rarity of the production, the historical importance of certain references and the precise identification of their different series have gradually built an extremely specialised collectors’ market.
In spring 2026, Phillips recorded several particularly high results for historic Chronomètres à Résonance: 13.9 million dollars for the “Souscription no. 007”, 6.3 million for the “Souscription no. 18” and 3 million for the limited edition known as “Pisa”. These results are reported by the auction house and include the buyer’s premium.
The 022/99R, however, holds a different historical value. It stands out not only for its rarity or its configuration, but for its position in the manufacture’s chronology. It reportedly represents the precise moment when the Chronomètre à Résonance leaves the circle of subscribers and presentation pieces to become a watch actually destined for a client.
A founding piece of contemporary independent watchmaking
In the press release announcing the sale, Alexandre Ghotbi, Deputy Chairman and Head of Watches for Europe and the Middle East at Phillips, and Tiffany To, Senior International Watch Specialist and Head of Sale, describe this watch as one of the very first examples delivered and as a witness to how the complication actually works on the wrist.
This continuous provenance, since its acquisition in 1999, further reinforces its interest. Unlike many vintage watches that have passed through several collections, the Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R comes to the market directly from its first owner. Its estimate necessarily remains indicative. Faced with a piece whose importance rests as much on its chronology as on its rarity, the contest between collectors could go beyond the criteria usually associated with a model, a dial or a state of preservation.
See you in Geneva in November 2026
The F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance 022/99R will be exhibited before being presented at The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV, on 7 and 8 November 2026, at the Hôtel Président in Geneva.
Beyond the result that will be recorded under the hammer, this sale will offer a chance to rediscover one of the first chapters in the history of François-Paul Journe. An era when the manufacture was still only a bold project, carried by a few collectors and by the determination of a watchmaker convinced that a phenomenon studied for several centuries could come to life on the wrist.
With this number 022, it is less a mere watch that appears at auction than a founding fragment of modern independent watchmaking.
Frequently asked questions
It is a pre-production Chronomètre à Résonance made in 1999, a year before the model’s official launch in 2000, and reportedly the first numbered example destined for sale. It has a 38 mm platinum case, a rare polished rose-gold dial with two silvered sub-dials, and a hand-wound movement still using brass plates and bridges typical of the manufacture’s earliest pieces.
The suffix “99R” means the case was ordered in 1999. Numbers 001 to 020 went to collectors who backed the Tourbillon Souverain “Souscription”, and 021 was kept by Journe as a presentation piece, so 022 is the first Résonance numbered for a conventional sale. Its owner chose 022 because it matched his birthday.
First observed by Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century and later applied to horology by Antide Janvier and Abraham-Louis Breguet, resonance occurs when two oscillators of close frequency, placed near each other, gradually synchronise through the tiny vibrations they transmit. François-Paul Journe miniaturised it in a wristwatch, presented in 2000, using two independent regulating organs with no direct mechanical link.
It will be offered at The Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV by Phillips on 7 and 8 November 2026 at the Hôtel Président in Geneva, with an estimate of 500,000 to 1,000,000 Swiss francs, excluding fees.
In spring 2026 Phillips recorded strong results (including buyer’s premium): 13.9 million dollars for the “Souscription no. 007”, 6.3 million for “no. 18” and 3 million for the “Pisa” limited edition. The 022/99R’s value, however, rests on its place in the manufacture’s chronology as the first example sold to a client, not only on its rarity.
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