This ultrarare preproduction Journe could fetch $1 million

This ultrarare preproduction Journe Chronomètre à Résonance—serial 022/99R and quite possibly the first example delivered to a collector—will go under the gavel at Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV this coming November, with estimates ranging from about $617,000 to $1.2 million. The 1999 platinum piece sits at the origin of François-Paul Journe’s dual-balance wristwatch legend.

Key Takeaways

• Phillips will offer Résonance 022/99R at Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV on November 7–8, 2026.
• Produced in 1999—a year before the model’s official launch—it is one of about 10 pre-production examples believed to exist.
• Presale estimates are CHF 500,000–1 million, roughly $617,000–$1.2 million.
• Earlier in 2026, a Souscription Résonance sold for $13.92 million at Phillips, a record for F.P. Journe and indie watchmakers.

Why does this ultrarare preproduction Journe matter now?

Collector demand for F.P. Journe has exploded. Earlier this year, one of 20 early “Souscription” pieces hammered for $13.92 million at Phillips, setting a new record for both the brand and independent watchmakers. The auction house also sold two other Résonances in 2026 for $6.3 million and $3 million.

Against that backdrop, Robb Report notes that 022/99R is not simply an early Résonance. Phillips says it is, in all likelihood, the first Chronomètre à Résonance delivered to a collector—the watch that proved the complication worked on the wrist.

What makes serial 022/99R historically significant?

The Chronomètre à Résonance was officially introduced in 2000 as the world’s first wristwatch to harness resonance. Drawing on ideas linked to Antide Janvier and Abraham-Louis Breguet, Journe used two closely positioned balance wheels and escapements that influence each other until they settle into the same rate of oscillation, improving chronometric stability.

Journe offered the first 20 watches, numbered 001–020/00R, through a subscription system that helped finance his manufacture. He kept serial 021 as his presentation watch for clients and retailers. The next example, 022/99R, went to a collector who selected it because “002” matched his birth date; the “99R” denotes a case ordered in 1999.

That owner held the watch for 27 years before consigning it. Specs include a 38 mm platinum case, an exceptionally rare shiny pink-gold dial with silver-toned subdials, and a brass movement visible through a transparent exhibition caseback—details that place it among the rarest early Résonance survivors.

Where and when will the watch be sold?

Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV will take place at Hotel President on November 7 and 8, with a public preview in the days leading up to the sale. Alexandre Ghotbi and Tiffany To of Phillips said everything that followed—the acclaim, waiting lists, and mythology around Journe—traces back to this watch.

At a Phillips sale in May, nine F.P. Journe timepieces collectively set six world records. With estimates already stretching toward seven figures in dollars, this pre-production Résonance could test how far the market will go for foundational indie icons.

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