IDEX Online) - A "holy grail" watch that finally brought a two-century-old technological dream to life is to be auctioned by Phillips Geneva and is expected to fetch up to CHF 1 million ($1.15 million).The auction house is offering the first Chronometre a Resonance by French master watchmaker F.P. Journe sold to a customer. The sale took place in 1999, a year before the model's official launch.The "resonance" refers to the watch's technological breakthrough: two separate balance wheels synchronize with each other, like two pendulums swinging in unison, to stabilize timekeeping and improve accuracy.The concept was studied by prominent clockmakers such as Antide Janvier and later by Abraham-Louis Breguet. However, it proved so difficult to master on a moving wrist that, for more than 200 years, no one could make it work reliably in a wristwatch."What we have here is not simply an early Resonance. It is, in all likelihood, the very first one delivered," said Alexandre Ghotbi of Phillips Watches."Everything that followed - the acclaim, the waiting lists, the mythology around Journe - traces back to this watch."The watch is being consigned by its original owner. It will be offered at Phillips' Geneva Watch Auction: XXIV with an estimate of CHF 500,000-1,000,000, or about $575,000-$1.15 million.Photo courtesy of Phillips