Black Label Collection - Centigraphe Souverain (2024)

THIS MODEL WAS PRODUCED BETWEEN 2010 AND 2017.

AN EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION AVAILABLE ONLY FOR F.P. JOURNE WATCH OWNERS.

WITH A LIMITED PRODUCTION OF ABOUT 900 TIMEPIECES PER YEAR, F.P. JOURNE WANTED TO OFFER AN EVEN MORE EXCLUSIVE TIMEKEEPER THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE ONLY FOR OWNERS OF AN F.P. JOURNE WATCH. WITH A CASE MADE IN PLATINUM, THE MOST PRECIOUS METAL, F.P. JOURNE HAS CREATED A DISTINGUISHED LACQUERED BLACK DIAL THAT PERSONALIZES EVEN FURTHER THE ELEGANCE OF THE BRAND WATCHES. THE BLACK LABEL COLLECTION WAS BORN.

THE BLACK LABEL COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN THE F.P. JOURNE BOUTIQUES AND ESPACES.

FRANÇOIS-PAUL JOURNE, INGENIOUS RESEARCHER INTO USEFUL AND ORIGINAL TIMEPIECES, ONCE AGAIN SURPRISED US WITH AN UNPRECEDENTED CHRONOGRAPH. THE ART OF CONVERTING 6KM/H INTO 36'000KM/H.

THE HAND-WOUND MECHANICAL MOVEMENT OF THE CENTIGRAPHE INDICATES ELAPSED TIMES FROM A 100TH OF A SECOND TO 10 MINUTES, VISIBLE ON 3 DIALS, EACH WITH A TIME SCALE IN RED AND A TACHOMETER SCALE IN BLACK.
THE TACHOMETER SCALES CONVERTS TIME UNITS FOR 1 KILOMETRE INTO SPEEDS RANGING FROM 6 KM/H —WALKING PACE — TO 36,000 KM/H, WELL ABOVE THE ESCAPE VELOCITY OF A ROCKET GOING INTO LOW-LEVEL ORBIT.

THE INDICATIONS
THE 100TH OF A SECOND HAND REVOLVES AROUND THE DIAL IN ONE SECOND ON A SCALE MARKED IN HUNDREDTHS OF A SECOND. THEORETICALLY IT IS POSSIBLE TO TIME AN OBJECT MOVING AT 36,000 KM/H WITH THE TACHOMETER ON THE WATCH FACE, ON WHICH 36’000 IS FACING THE 10 ON THE 100TH OF A SECOND SCALE.
ON THE DIAL AT 2 O’CLOCK, THE HAND REVOLVES ONCE EVERY 20 SECONDS ON A TIME SCALE DIVIDED INTO SECONDS. THE EXTERNAL TACHOMETER SCALE INDICATES SPEEDS.
THE THIRD DIAL, AT 6 O’CLOCK, GRADUATED FOR 10 MINUTES, HAS A SIMILAR TACHOMETER SCALE WITH SPEEDS CORRESPONDING TO 20-SECOND MARKERS. THUS, FOR EXAMPLE, A KILOMETRE TRAVELLED IN THREE MINUTES 40 SECONDS REPRESENTS A SPEED OF 16.4KM/H (TO WITHIN A DECIMAL).

PATENTED ERGONOMIC CHRONOGRAPH
THE CHRONOGRAPH IS STARTED, STOPPED AND ZEROED BY A ROCKER AT 2 O’CLOCK IN THE CASE BAND, INSTEAD OF THE USUAL BUTTONS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CROWN. THIS ERGONOMIC DESIGN, PERFECTLY FITTED TO THE WRISTWATCH, IS PATENTED.

PATENTED CHRONOGRAPH MECHANISM
A SECOND PATENT WAS GRANTED FOR THE MECHANISM’S INGENIOUS CONFIGURATION, WHICH EFFECTIVELY ISOLATES THE CHRONOGRAPH FROM THE TIMEKEEPING FUNCTION. THIS MEANS THE BALANCE AMPLITUDE IS UNAFFECTED WHEN THE CHRONOGRAPH IS RUNNING.

THE HANDS OF THE 100TH OF A SECOND, THE 20 SECONDS, AND THE 10 MINUTES COUNTERS ARE DRIVEN BY TWO DIFFERENT WHEEL TRAINS, THEMSELVES DRIVEN BY THE CENTRE OF THE MAINSPRING (SYSTEM PATENTED FOR THE SONNERIE SOUVERAINE). THE 1-SECOND COUNTER AND THE 20-SECONDS COUNTER ARE DRIVEN BY TWO WHEEL-TRAINS ON EITHER SIDE OF A SINGLE INTERMEDIATE WHEEL DRIVEN BY THE BARREL ARBOR (PATENTED FOR THE SONNERIE SOUVERAINE).
ANOTHER SEPARATE TRAIN OF WHEELS, ALSO DRIVEN BY THE BARREL ARBOR, DRIVES THE 10-MINUTES HAND.

1/100TH SECOND RECORDER HAND
THE 100TH OF A SECOND HAND, RELEASED BY THE WATCH'S ESCAPEMENT, MAKES ONE REVOLUTION OF THE DIAL PER SECOND. A WHEEL MOUNTED ON THE ESCAPE WHEEL (4TH WHEEL OF THE GOING TRAIN) RELEASES THE ARBOR TO WHICH THE HAND IS FITTED. THE SECONDS ARE DRIVEN BY THE GOING TRAIN FROM THE BARREL, AND BY THE ENERGY OF THE CHRONOGRAPH TRAIN, AS TRANSMITTED BY THE BARREL ARBOR.

ONE INGENIOUS FEATURE OF THE 100TH OF A SECOND IS THAT IT MAY BE STOPPED ANYWHERE ALONG ITS ONE-SECOND JOURNEY AROUND ITS DIAL, EVEN BETWEEN TWO 100TH-SECOND DIVISIONS, ENABLING A FRACTIONAL READING.
THIS IS ACHIEVED BY VERTICALLY DISENGAGING THE PINION OF THE 100TH OF A SECOND HAND FROM THAT OF THE ESCAPEMENT, WHICH PRESSES ON THE PIVOT SHANK AND ACTS AS A BRAKE.

RETURN TO ZERO
THE 20-SECONDS HAND AND THE 10-MINUTES HAND ARBORS ARE ZEROED BY HAMMER LEVERS ACTING ON SNAIL CAMS. THE 100TH OF A SECOND HAND IS STOPPED AT ZERO BY A BEAK PROTRUDING FROM ITS PINION, WHICH PRESSES ON A LEVER AND THUS BLOCKS THE CHRONOGRAPH TRAIN.

MAINTAINING POWER AND POWER RESERVE
THE BARREL FEATURES A MAINTAINING POWER SYSTEM IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE DRIVING FORCE DOES NOT DECREASE DURING WINDING.
THE MAINSPRING SUPPLIES AT LEAST A 80 HOURS OF POWER RESERVE WITHOUT THE CHRONOGRAPH, AND 24 HOURS WITH THE CHRONOGRAPH RUNNING.

THE CENTIGRAPHE, AN ATYPICAL GODFATHER: JEAN TODT
FOR THE CREATION OF THE CENTIGRAPHE, THINGS HAPPENED SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY THAN FOR OTHER CREATIONS. I MET JEAN TODT THROUGH THE ICM FOUNDATION, AND DURING THE COURSE OF OUR MEETINGS WE DISCUSSED THE IDEAL CHRONOGRAPH FOR THE WORLD OF CAR RACING.

RESEARCH I CARRIED OUT OVER 15 YEARS AGO FOR THE CREATION OF AN EXPONENTIAL CHRONOGRAPH QUICKLY SHOWED ME THAT A CHRONOGRAPH WITH 3 HANDS REVOLVING AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS WAS A GOOD STARTING POINT. I FOLLOWED UP WITH RESEARCH ON CHRONOGRAPH PUSHERS, ON QUESTIONS REGARDING THE BALANCE OF POWER IN THE MOVEMENT, REQUIREMENTS, AND ENERGY LOSS, AND I MADE USE OF A PATENT REGISTERED FOR THE SONNERIE SOUVERAINE. I PATENTED TWO ADDITIONAL INNOVATIONS CONCERNING MOTRICITY. I AM PROUD THAT JEAN TODT HAS AGREED TO BE THE CENTIGRAPHE’S GODFATHER.

THE CENTIGRAPHE CONTRIBUTES TO THE MEDICAL RESEARCH OF THE ICM
IN PURCHASING THE CENTIGRAPHE, YOU ARE ALSO SUPPORTING THE MEDICAL RESEARCH CARRIED OUT BY THE ICM – INSTITUTE OF BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD IN PARIS - TO HELP FIGHT DISEASES SUCH AS ALZHEIMER’S, PARKINSON’S, AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS...
ALONG WITH PROFESSOR GÉRARD SAILLANT, LUC BESSON, JEAN RÉNO, JEAN TODT, MICHELLE YEOH AND MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, AMONGST OTHERS, FRANÇOIS-PAUL JOURNE HAS COMMITTED TO DONATING 30% OF THE PROFITS FROM THE SALE OF EACH CENTIGRAPHE TO THE ICM, WITH NO TIME LIMIT.
WWW.ICM-INSTITUTE.ORG

Black Label Collection - Centigraphe Souverain (2024)

FAQs

What is a centigraphe watch? ›

In a nutshell

The Centigraphe was invented to to measure elapsed times with a resolution of up to 1/100th of a second, or 0.01 seconds.

Who can buy an FP Journe Black Label? ›

WITH A CASE MADE IN PLATINUM, THE MOST PRECIOUS METAL, F.P. JOURNE HAS CREATED A DISTINGUISHED BLACK DIAL THAT PERSONALIZES EVEN FURTHER THE ELEGANCE OF THE BRAND WATCHES. THE BLACK LABEL COLLECTION WAS BORN. THE BLACK LABEL COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN THE F.P.

What was the size of the FP Journe Centigraphe? ›

Overall diameter : 34.40 mm. Casing-up diameter : 34.00 mm. Overall height : 5.60 mm. Height of hands : 1.45 mm.

What does a watch timegrapher do? ›

A watch timing machine or timegrapher is a machine that acoustically measures the ticks of a mechanical watch to assess its accuracy and enable calibration.

What is a Copernicus watch? ›

Share Facebook Linkedin Twitter Weibo Mail Instagram. Produced in the 1980s, the Raketa Kopernik was a nod to the Soviet Union's space exploration, a Soviet Moon watch of sorts. The hour hand took the form of a golden disc, representing the Sun, while the minute hand was the Moon, taking the form of a large ring.

What does Chronography mean in watch? ›

A chronograph is built with a stopwatch function within the system to allow the user to obtain elapsed time. It is designed with a reset button such that the user can always start measuring the time from zero again whenever they want to.

What is tritium watch? ›

An isotope of hydrogen that is used to make watch hands and indices glow in the dark. Until a few years ago, hands and indices were often painted with tritium paint. But because tritium is mildly radioactive, and feared by some to be a health hazard, tritium paint is no longer used on dials.

Why do watches have Tachymeters? ›

A tachymeter is a function in a watch that allows one to measure average speed, given that the distance covered is known. It is usually found in sports watches and is extremely useful to time races.

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