FP Journe Tourbillon Souverain Ruthenium

François Paul Journe - a name that has been resonating endlessly throughout the watch community, but even more so over the last year. The Marseille-born watchmaker long adored by his loyal fan base has, over the past year, been pushed under the spotlight by the overwhelming success of his vintage pieces at auction, but also of catalogue pieces like the Chronomètre Bleu and Élegante. What’s even more impressive is how all of this happened in such a short amount of time compared to other Swiss powerhouses.

Don’t get me wrong, Journe has been on the watch community’s radar for a long time, but the major public’s recent dive into the matter has a few key actors to thank for its success. Retailers like A Collected Man, focusing on selling Pre-Owned watches from mainstream and independent watchmakers alike have allowed a greater public to become accustomed to the world of FP Journe. The recent success at auctions of Souscription pieces and early brass-movement watches also brought the attention of media platforms like HypeBeast, Highsnobiety, GQ and more furthering the greater publics fascination for the brand.

This brings us to the Ruthenium Collection, introduced in 2001 and produced until 2003, it is a limited edition of 99 pieces for both the Resonance and Tourbillon Souverain. Today, we’ll be looking at the Tourbillon Souverain, more specifically, piece number 01 of 99.

As the name states, the dial of the watch is coated with a layer of ruthenium giving the watch a beautiful hue resembling slate. Depending on the light, the dial varies from a very dark charcoal grey to an occasional silver-like reflection thanks to the domed crystal. At 12, a forty-eight hour power reserve allows the wearer to ensure the watch is always properly wound. At 6, the one-second remontoir d’égalité is visible. At 9 and 3 respectively, the tourbillon and guilloché dial. 

The hand-wound movement of the Ruthenium T is the caliber 1498, made from brass, the movement is also coated in ruthenium covering the côtes de Genève finishing. These brass movements are very few in numbers due to their short production from 2001 to 2004. Obviously, this makes them adored by collectors for their rarity. 

Encased in a 40mm Platinum case, the Ruthenium is the only 40mm brass movement tourbillon souverain made, all prior models being made in a 38mm case. This makes for a more imposing watch that feels far more modern on the wrist in comparison to other 38mm T watches. This is also due to the ruthenium dial giving the watch a far more monochromatic look that makes the watch extremely wearable daily. 

The first time I ever picked up an FP Journe, the immediate thought that came to me was “this feels like a pocket watch” - in hand FP’s watches feel incredibly well made and solid, they have a certain heft to them that is extremely comforting. The design of the case also helps with this feeling, very rounded with two réhauts on the side. I believe this is done purposefully, Mr Journe having been heavily inspired and influenced by the works of Breguet whose case designs are somewhat similar. 

Due to the rarity of the Ruthenium watches, they obviously make for exceptional collectibles. However, what makes a fantastic collectible to many is longevity. Longevity in design. The case size, is both modern enough to fit larger wrists, yet not too large that it would disinterest purists. The guilloche dial already shows signs of Patina, which is wonderful for vintage fans to enter the world of Journe.

The finishing, whilst sometimes not up to the hype surrounding it, is excellent. The part where I find myself sometimes disappointed is in the small details, like the misalignment of the tourbillon cage on this example, the imperfect perlage of the movement under the tourbillon in the photo below, or the screws being randomly aligned with screwdriver marks left on them. It seems odd to me that a watch that has been so thoroughly thought out can miss these little details that would push the watches into holy grail territory.

Now, of course, these small details give the watch charisma, it is hand finished after all and these small details will go unnoticed by most. But I still felt it was necessary to point these little imperfections out.

The thing that stands out the most to me with this piece is the monochromatic look and feel of the watch. Despite the hype surrounding it, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the object itself. The different materials used, the different textures on the watch and the hypnotising tourbillon make it a fantastic piece on the wrist.