Page 13 of Souveraine Collection by F.P.Journe

chronomètre à résonance two centuries later françois-paul journe took up the challenge with a first creation in the form of a pocket-watch which did not yet perform according to his expectations it would take fifteen more years of work for the watchmaker to gain the maturity and the experience to enable him to present an exclusive world première the first resonance wristwatch he devised developed and built this movement to meet the demands of actual wear on the wrist and thereby provide chronometric performance driven to extremes each of the two balances alternately serves as exciter and resonator when the two balances are in motion they enter into sympathy due to the effect of the resonance and begin naturally beating in opposition the two balances thus rest against each other giving more inertia to their movement nonetheless this harmony is possible only if the difference in frequency between them does not exceed five seconds per day of cumulated difference in six situations adjusting them is an extremely delicate task whereas an external disturbing movement affects the running 62 of a traditional mechanical watch this same disturbance in the case of a resonance watches produces an effect that accelerates one of the balances as much as it slows the other down little by little the two balances come back towards each other to find their point of harmony thus eliminating the disturbance this innovative chronometer offers a level of precision that is unequalled in the field of the mechanical watch what actually is the resonance phenomenon two frequencies which harmonise any animate body transmits a vibration to its environment when another body picks up this vibration it absorbs its energy and begins to vibrate at the same frequency the first is called the exciter and the second the resonator this physical phenomenon known as resonance is an integral part of our daily life and yet we hardly even notice it.

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