On May 12, Christie’s will inaugurate « The Art of F.P. Journe »,the largest auction ever organized and dedicated to François-Paul Journe, a perfect opportunity to look back at the six iconic models that have contributed to the brand’s success.
François-Paul Journe or a certain idea of watchmaking
A true star of independent watchmaking, François-Paul Journe has established itself over the past 20 years as one of the most sought-after signatures among connoisseurs.
If his rare timepieces arouse so much interest today, it is because their value has soared in recent years, even doubling, tripling or tenfold!
However, far from investment strategies and a booming market, behind this beautiful signature, it is indeed watchmaking that is at stake. To understand why François-Paul Journe has made such a name for himself in the watchmaking world, it is necessary to look at his collections and take the time to review his emblematic models, because they speak volumes about the F.P. Journe philosophy.
The man who in the 1980s worked exclusively on commission for a handful of collectors in his small workshop on the rue de Verneuil in Paris is now a true international star.
However, if at the age of 4 he fell in love with an old pocket watch by chance, which he would never leave during his childhood, nothing predestined François-Paul Journe to become a watchmaker.
Turbulent, dissipated and not very studious, he leaves the general curriculum and joins the watchmaking school of Marseille at 14 years old …. Before being kicked out 3 months later for indiscipline! It was at this point that one of his uncles, a watchmaker in Paris who “had also had a rather difficult career”, took him under his wing and offered him an internship in his clock restoration workshop. It was the trigger. By confronting the most beautiful 18th century timepieces, François-Paul Journe became fascinated by the technicality, genius and inventiveness of the watchmakers of the past.
“Watchmaking, even the one I make, is a fossil science, because it is no longer needed. We play with completely useless concepts from the 18th and 19th centuries but that make you dream.”
“Watchmaking, even the one I make, is a fossil science, because it is no longer needed. We play with completely useless concepts from the 18th and 19th centuries but that make you dream.”
Initially specializing in the restoration of antique clocks, he began designing his first tourbillon in the early 1980s. This challenge, which he took up in 5 years, allowed him to be noticed by great collectors. In 1985, he opened his first workshop on rue de Verneuil, and set up as an independent. He produces a few very confidential pieces and works only on order for some great collectors until 1994, when he has the opportunity to take over the workshop of a Geneva watchmaker who is retiring.
The “Invenit & Fecit” adventure began in 1997 and officially took shape in 1999 with the launch of his first watch. Today, François-Paul Journe is considered as the one who gave a new impulse to the independent watchmaking industry. Yet, with unparalleled modesty and humility, he refuses to be worshipped as a genius, and prefers to pay tribute in his own way to those who inspire him: Antide Janvier, Ferdinand Berthoud or Louis-Abraham Breguet. Recalling that they are the inventors of the great concepts with which he plays, he never ceases to reappropriate their discoveries and to combine them in his own way.
6 must-have models to collect
Tourbillon Souverain
Of all the models developed by François-Paul Journe, the Tourbillon Souverain is certainly the most emblematic, the one with which everything began.
It was in 1997, when his brand was not yet officially launched, that François-Paul Journe imagined this watch. At the beginning, there was a desire to reinterpret the great concepts that revolutionized 18th and 19th century watchmaking, but also a requirement to make watches and not “watches”.
Fascinated by chronometry, it is the demand for precision that leads him to reappropriate one of the greatest inventions of Louis-Abrahan Breguet: the tourbillon. Patented in 1801 by the French watchmaker, the tourbillon regulator system allows the movement to maintain the same accuracy “regardless of the position, vertical or inclined, of the watch”.
The genius of François-Paul Journe is to combine this complication with another regulation mechanism: the remontoir d’égalité. Aimed at bringing more stability to the movement, the remontoir d’égalité is a complex mechanism developed in watchmaking at the end of the 16th century by the Swiss Jost Bürgi. Abandoned in the 17th century, this system was revisited in the 18th century by Ferdinand Berthoud, then abandoned once again by 19th century watchmakers, before being revived by the fascinating George Daniels in the 1970s.
Wishing to pay homage to a complication that has become “completely useless” today – since other mechanisms allowing for more precision have been discovered in the meantime – François-Paul Journe’s talent is to dare to experiment with what history has not made necessary.
Launched in 1999, François-Paul Journe’s very first watch is sold by subscription, a principle invented by Louis-Abraham Breguet that consists of pre-selling watches before they go into production. Buyers were required to pay 25% of the sale price when ordering, and this participatory financing system allowed François-Paul Journe to “prime the pump” by limiting risk-taking. Only 20 pieces were announced, and collectors struggled to get on the order list.
If the Tourbillon Souverain is the watch that launched F.P. Journe, it is above all a model that has not stopped reinventing itself for 24 years. In 2003, a new version equipped with a deadbeat seconds hand was launched, and in 2019, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this iconic model, a version with a vertical – rather than horizontal – tourbillon cage was launched.
The model that will be auctioned on May 12 by Christie’s is particularly interesting, as it is equipped with a jade dial (Estimate 500 000 / 1 000 000 CHF). Jade is very rarely used in watchmaking because it is very fragile and requires a special know-how and great mastery. Given the complexity of the dial, particularly because of the opening for the tourbillon cage and the two sub-dials, offering a version of the Tourbillon Souverain with a jade dial was a daring gamble. Only a limited number of pieces were produced in 38mm and 40mm in 2015. The piece offered by Christie’s is a 40mm version. For comparison, a similar piece was offered for sale on June 11, 2022 by Phillips in New York (lot #10) and sold for $1,240,000 (CHF 1,138,000).
Chronomètre à Résonance « Pré-Souscription »
Launched in 2000, the resonance chronometer is the result of 17 years of research and development. It was in the early 1980s, while restoring a clock for the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers with his uncle, that François-Paul Journe discovered the principle of resonance, a law that would inspire his creations and become a dominant research axis.
Discovered in the 17th century by the Dutch watchmaker Christian Huygens, this principle is based on an observation: two watch mechanisms placed in close proximity systematically synchronize their movements and achieve greater precision. This natural phenomenon is called “resonance”. In the 18th century, the astronomer and master clockmaker Antide Janvier was the first to exploit this discovery and to understand that at the heart of the principle of resonance there is in fact a transfer of energy from one mechanism to another. But it was really Louis-Abraham Breguet who transposed the principle of resonance for the first time in a pocket watch.
Particularly admiring the work of Antide Janvier, who died in poverty and unjustly fell into oblivion in the 19th century, François-Paul Journe undertook in 1983 to design a pocket watch with resonance. Unfortunately, this project did not succeed and ended in failure. It was only in 2000 that he succeeded in realizing his ambition and developed the very first resonance wristwatch. Based on the same principle as his Tourbillon Souverain, this watch was launched by subscription and the first series was produced in 20 pieces. But secretly, he published a preview series called “Pre-subscription”.
The piece offered by Christie’s is particularly exciting, as it comes from this extremely rare series prior to the first official series. A priori 40 coins would have been manufactured in 1999 and issued before the subscription series. Because the first series are always the most coveted by collectors, this example will certainly generate exceptional enthusiasm. Hardly ever appearing on the second market, this “Pre-Subscription” watch will probably exceed the million euro mark (Estimate 500,000 / 1,000,000 CHF).
For comparison, on November 9, 2022, Sotheby’s recorded a result of CHF 1,071,000 for a Pré Souscription resonance chronometer in platinum with a white gold dial.
Centigraphe Souverain
Fascinated by chronometry and in search of absolute precision, F.P. Journe could only dare to reinvent and surpass the chronograph. In 2008, he took up this challenge by developing his first Centigraphe, a chronograph measuring one hundredth of a second. This project was not inspired by 18th or 19th century watchmaking, but by a meeting between the watchmaker and Jean Todd, then head of Ferrari. While discussing what would be the ideal watch for the world of motor racing, the idea of a watch capable of measuring times of one hundredth of a second as well as 10 minutes appeared to be obvious. This necessity was to serve as a guiding principle for the watchmaker who imagined a mechanism capable of measuring speeds of up to 360,000 km/h, an unprecedented technical feat.
Because he is at the origin of this timepiece, proposed at its launch with a red chrome dial in reference to the F1 paint, Jean Todd is officially “the godfather”.
A model that is now legendary in the F.P. Journe collections since it received the Aiguille d’Or 2008, the highest distinction awarded by the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix.
Produced from 2008 to 2018, the Centigraphe has been declined in several series with red dials. The very first one is limited to 3 pieces only and bears the Ferrari logo at 12 o’clock. The 3 watches, each numbered, were dedicated to Jean Tood, Michael Schumacher and François-Paul Journe. In 2010, a new series of 4 pieces made to order is manufactured. The watch offered at auction probably comes from this series, of which to date, only one example has been offered at auction. Sold in Geneva by Antiquorum the year of its release, this Centigraphe “Ferrari” was sold for CHF 111,600…. A price which 13 years later, seems absolutely ridiculous considering the obvious “collection” potential of this timepiece (Estimate 400 000 / 600 000 CHF).
Octa Calendrier
In 2001, F.P. Journe launched the Octa line, a collection of automatic wristwatches with an amazing 120-hour power reserve, i.e. 5 days of autonomy! Available in 38 or 40mm, platinum or pink gold, the Octa collection was a dazzling success from the start.
Launched in 2004, the Octa Calendar model is the first wristwatch to integrate a retrograde annual calendar and a large date. Requiring 3 years of research and development, this model was produced only between 2004 and 2015, as it is also one of the specificities of F.P. Journe, the collections evolve and are stopped arbitrarily or according to new projects that emerge.
This model is particularly remarkable for the way François-Paul Journe has miniaturized the calendar mechanism. At no more than 30 mm wide and 5.7 mm in diameter, the small size of the calendar makes for a watch with surprisingly harmonious proposals.
Because it does not rely on the great principles inherited from the watchmaking tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as the remontoir of equality or resonance, the Octa collection is perhaps the most “mainstream” line from F.P. Journe.
The piece presented at the auction on May 12 is in platinum and equipped with a rare black mother-of-pearl dial, also known as “Tahitian mother-of-pearl”. It is probably the special series, limited to 15 watches only, made in 2006 for Sincere Fine Watches, the oldest luxury watch retailer in Asia (Estimate 150,000 / 250,000 CHF).
The Octa Calendar model received the Special Jury Prize in 2002 at the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix.
Chronomètre Souverain, Édition Dubaï
To celebrate the opening of its 10th boutique in Dubai on October 30, 2019, F.P. Journe is launching a special edition of its Chronomètre Souverain. After Tokyo, Hong Kong, Geneva, Paris, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Beirut and Kiev, the brand is honoring Middle Eastern collectors by partnering with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the Emirates’ historic retailer.
Limited to 99 pieces, this 40mm platinum series features a beautiful green dial, the color of luck, success and fertility (Estimate €60,000 / CHF 120,000).
A true precision instrument, the Chronomètre Souverain is one of F.P. Journe’s bestsellers and certainly the most sober and minimalist model in the collection.
A precision chronometer, the Souverain chronometer was launched in 2005 and is directly inspired by the marine chronometers produced in the early 18th century. The first marine chronometers were revolutionary in their reliability, as they were the measuring instruments that enabled the greatest explorers and navigators to discover the world. Despite temperature variations, gravitational force (latitude/amplitude), the perpetual motion to which they are subjected, but also the ageing of oils (which can affect the functioning of the mechanism) their reliability is beyond the norm.
The marine chronometer, which represents an unprecedented advance in chronometry, represents for François-Paul Journe the greatest challenge in watchmaking: the search for constancy in the indication of time.
It is this philosophy that the Chronomètre Souverain embodies. Moreover, François-Paul Journe does not hesitate to dedicate this high level of sophistication “to a public with a certain art of living and a knowledge of watchmaking culture”.
Awarded the Prix de la Montre Homme at the Geneva Grand Prix in 2005, the Chronomètre Souverain has seen its value multiply since its launch. Initially sold for between CHF 14,000 and 17,000, the first models are now trading at up to 10 times that amount. On May 9, 2021, Phillips sold one of the first manufactured examples for CHF 163,000 (lot 140, May 8 and 9, 2021).
But the Chronomètre Souverain that has made the biggest impact on auctions in recent years is undoubtedly the one offered to George Daniels by François-Paul Journe in 2010. Sold a first time by Sotheby’s (lot 27, November 6, 2012), this watch “full of emotion that bears the tribute of one legendary watchmaker to another” was presented a second time at auction nearly 10 years later and sold for €345,000 by Christie’s in Hong Kong (lot 2206, May 22, 2021).
The Chronomètre Souverain has been the subject of very few special series: one in polished titanium to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the Tokyo boutique in 2005, and this “Dubai” series with green dial in 2019.
Octa « LineSport »
For any F.P. Journe enthusiast, the Linesport collection is fabulously exciting because it marks the introduction of new materials into the watchmaker’s world: aluminum.
Using platinum and red gold exclusively, François-Paul Journe has been experimenting with new textures such as titanium and tantalum since 2005 – reserving them for special series only.
But in 2011, the idea of designing a sporty line became more than an obvious necessity in order to meet the expectations of some collectors who practice high-level sports. In search of a lighter but ultra-resistant material, François-Paul Journe was inspired by the aeronautical field and discovered a perfectly adequate aluminum alloy, which is how the Linesport collection was born.
But if the LineSport collection is revolutionary, it is because its movement is no longer made of gold, but of aluminum with a titanium rotor! The watch is extremely light, weighing barely 60 g on a rubber strap and 70 g on a titanium strap! Combining precision watchmaking and functionality is the great challenge taken up by the Linesport collection.
The model that will be presented for sale at Christie’s on May 12 is a rare version in titanium with a blue dial (Estimate 60,000 / 120,000 CHF). Only 8 pieces have been produced to date, and none have ever appeared on the market.
Les éditions « Black Label »
Given the brand’s very limited production (about 1,000 pieces per year), each watch can be considered a true collector’s item. While special series or “anniversary” editions are obviously much more sought after, one collection in particular has collectors in a frenzy: Black Label.
Launched in 2008, this exclusive collection is only available to those who already own an F.P. Journe timepiece. The brand has created a special series with a black dial available only in platinum. Particularly coveted, only 12 pieces are issued each year, one for each model in 38 mm and 40 mm, the Black Label editions are the grail for investors!
