F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Ref. T Brass Platinum Yellow Dial

Yellow gold under the dial is the least seen of the three plate options on the early tourbillon, and against platinum it is much the boldest of them. The case is 38 mm, which is where the model started and where it stayed until Journe enlarged it. A tourbillon at this size wears like nothing else in the category, and every modern equivalent is substantially larger on the wrist. Journe has not gone back to the size.

The platinum case measures 38 mm. A yellow gold plate holds whitened guilloché silver registers, with the hours and minutes off center and the carriage exposed through the face below them. The color contrast is the strongest of any early tourbillon dial, and the reason these examples get remembered by anyone who has handled a few. Very few were made in this exact configuration, and fewer still survive with sharp cases.