ndeed, it features patented security systems that keep the watch from striking when the winding crown is pulled out, and that ensure that the winding crown may not be pulled out during striking. This ensures for the first time that the striking mechanism cannot be damaged by incorrect manipulation.

Produced in a run of just four per year, the F.P. Journe Sonnerie Souveraine strikes the hours and quarters in passing. In petite sonnerie mode, it only strikes the hours. It also strikes on demand, like the “Répétition Souveraine”, the hours, quarters and minutes. Protected by ten patents, it attests to the “Invenit” while the six years of research and development attest to the “Fecit” in the Manufacture’s motto.

Each year, time is thus audibly measured out by 35,040 automatic chimes and 332,880 hammer strikes. A single mainspring ensures 27 hours of striking, while the going train features 30 additional hours. F.P.Journe has exceptionally abandoned precious metals such as gold and platinum for a noble cause: to ensure the best possible striking tone that makes optimal use of the crystalline structure of steel

Revealed through the sapphire crystal case-back, the four hundred and fifty or so components have been meticulously and patiently crafted by a truly skilled watchmaker to form a reliable and resolutely innovative mechanism.