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With the invention of the pendulum, watchmakers noticed that their beat often interfered with the environment and it was not
unusual for a pendulum clock to stop, on its own, when it entered into resonance with the driving-weight hanging from the cords.
The first to get the feeling that one might turn this disadvantage into an asset was Antide Janvier, a particularly brilliant watch-
maker or “mechanical engineer” as he described himself born in 1751, in St. Claude, France. His idea was to build two complete move-
ments with two precision escapements and place them close to each other, ensuring that the two pendulums were hanging from the
same construction. Just as he imagined, the pendulums recovered the energy dissipated by one another and began to beat together,
thus entering into resonance.
Functioning as such, the movements are protecting themselves from outside vibrations, considerably enhancing their preci-
sion. Around 1780, Antide Janvier built two precision regulators, one of which is preserved at the Paul Dupuy museum in Toulouse,
while the second belongs to the private collection of Montres Journe SA in Geneva. A third regulator is kept at the Patek Philippe
Museum in Geneva.
Thirty years later, Abraham-Louis Breguet built a resonance regulator for Louis XVIII, King of France, which is now part of the
collection of the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. He built a second piece for the King of England, George IV, which is housed at
Buckingham Palace. He also made a pocket-watch based on the same principle for each of these famous characters.
To my knowledge, no-one else in watch making took any further interest in this fascinating physical phenomenon! The advan-
tages of the resonance in terms of precision led me to pursue my own personal research and attempts. After fifteen years of work, I was
able to adapt this very phenomenon to a wristwatch for the second model of the Souveraine collection: the Chronomètre à Resonance.
I felt that this resonance system was particularly well suited for the various wrist movements; especially the repeated shocks that can
occur on the watch mechanism that are so detrimental to its smooth running.
François-Paul Journe
Preface
Chronomètre à Résonance
An emblematic timekeeper_
