Francois-Paul Journe launched his namesake brand with the motto “invenit et fecit” (invented and made) in 1999, first introducing the Tourbillon Souverain Remointoire d’Egalité, known as the “T”. In 2003, Francois-Paul Journe pushed the boundaries of his timekeeping masterpiece further, upgrading the “T” to the “TN” model (“Tourbillon Nouveau”) – the reference Tourbillon Souverain Remontoire d’Egalité avec Seconde Morte.

“Seconde Morte”, the art of making time stand still, is the French term for “dead beat seconds”. This complication requires the utmost precision to reliably stop and restart the seconds hand as the escapement continues to beat—not moving until one second has elapsed, then jumping to the next second. Enhanced with a deadbeat seconds complication, the timepiece with constant force mechanism was designed for highly accurate, precision timekeeping. With the introduction of an 18 karat pink gold movement and cased predominantly in platinum as well as pink gold, the 40mm Tourbillon Souverain was discontinued in 2018.

Part of the ultra-rare and exclusive Black Label collection, the present model was available only to pre-existing Journe owners. Each F.P. Journe boutique receiving one Black Label watch per month and only one or two of each model. With a semi-gloss black dial, it is immediately recognizable to Journe cognoscenti and extraordinarily rare. Offered in outstanding condition and complete with its original accessories, such a watch is surely a prize for the avid Journe collector.