F. P. Journe

Montres Journe SA
Watch Manufacture
Industry Haute Horology
Founded 1999
Headquarters Geneve, Switzerland
Key people
 François-Paul Journe
Products Watches
Website www.fpjourne.com

F.P. Journe is a Swiss high-end watch manufacture founded in 1999 and named after the founder, François-Paul Journe. The only three-time winner of the Aiguille d'Or grand prize from the Fondation du Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève,[1] F.P. Journe focuses on complex precision chronometers[2] with a production of around 800 watches per year.[3]

F.P. Journe is the only watchmaker still based in central Geneva,[4] with company headquarters, manufacturing facilities, and an exhibition space with library housed in a converted gaslamp factory in the Coulouvreniere Rois neighborhood.[5][6][7] F.P. Journe also owns its own casemaker, Les Boîtiers de Genève, and its own dialmaker, Les Cadraniers de Genève, housed in the same facility in Meyrin,[8] a municipality in the Canton of Geneva.

The company's motto, Invenit et Fecit (Latin for "[He] invented it and made it"), denotes that the company designs and builds the entirety of the watch movements.[3][9][10]

History

François-Paul Journe was born in Marseille in 1957.[11] An unruly child, he was sent to a local technical college at the age of 14. He went on to graduate from the Paris watchmaking school in 1976.

The motto of the brand, Invenit et Fecit (Latin for "[He] invented it and made it") denotes that the company designs and builds the entirety of the movements.[3][9] Journe's movement designs are original and he has invented completely new systems, such as the resonance chronometer.[12]

Journe was interviewed in 2008 by Lusso magazine. The writer, Oliver Walston, said "He welcomed me with a big smile, but perhaps this is because I already own two of his watches".[12]

Awards

F.P. Journe has won the Aguille d'Or grand prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie on three occasions: In 2004 for the Tourbillon Souverain à seconde morte,[1] the current-generation Tourbillon Souverain with dead beat seconds; in 2006 for the Sonnerie Souverain,[1] both a Grand Sonnerie and a Petit Sonnerie for which F.P. Journe received 10 patents;[12][13] and in 2008 for the Centigraphe Souverain,[1] a chronograph with timekeeping isolated from chronograph mechanism, allowing the chronograph to measure hundredths of a second despite a 3Hz movement.[14] No other manufacture has won the Aguille d'Or more than twice.

F.P. Journe has also won four category prizes at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie: the 2002 Special Jury Prize for the Octa Calendrier; the 2003 Men's Watch Prize for the Octa Lune; the 2005 Men's Watch Prize for the Chronomètre Souverain; and the 2010 Complicated Watch Prize for the Chronomètre à Résonance.[1]

Philanthropy

Only Watch

F.P. Journe participated in the Only Watch auction for the first time in 2015, submitting the Tourbillon Souverain Bleu - a tourbillon watch based on the Chronomètre Bleu, including a chrome blue dial and a tantalum case, the latter which is very rare for a tourbillon.[15] As with the standard Tourbillon Souverain, it features an in-house rose gold movement and remontoire d'egalite, as well as dead beat seconds.[15] The Tourbillon Souverain Bleu sold for CHF 550,000 at auction.[16]

For the 2017 edition of Only Watch, F.P. Journe donated a monopusher split-seconds chronograph in 44mm with a blue dial and featuring a completely new movement[17] that would not be used in any other F.P Journe watches.[18] The watch sold for CHF 1,150,000 at auction, making it one of the most expensive independent wristwatches in history.[19][20] F.P. Journe later released a modified version of the movement in the "lineSport"-brand Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante series.[18]

Action Innocence

F.P. Journe has donated watches to auctions benefiting Swiss charity Action Innocence. In 2015, a special purple dial Tourbillon Souverain raised CHF 650,000 while a special purple dial Elegante raised CHF 55,000.[21] In 2017, a special purple dial Chronométre Optimum sold for CHF 200,000.[22]

Distribution

F.P. Journe watches are available through company-owned boutiques, official retail partnerships (branded as "ESPACE F.P. Journe"), and authorized dealers. The 10 company-owned boutiques are located in:

Patrimoine Service

In 2016, F.P. Journe launched Patrimoine Service, an official program that acquires out-of-production watches for interested collectors.[23] F.P. Journe purchases, authenticates, and services the watches at their Geneva headquarters, then resells the watches via their official boutiques.[23][24] A new guarantee card, box, and three-year warranty accompany all watches sold via the Patrimoine Service.[24] F.P. Journe is the first Swiss manufacture to offer such a service.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "GPHG WINNERS 2001-2017" (PDF). gphg.org. Fondation du Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "F.P. Journe - 30 Years Of Watchmaking Creations". fhs.swiss. Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Clymer, Benjamin (14 July 2014). "Introducing The F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain, Octa Lune, And Octa Reserve". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  4. ↑ Simonian, Haig (10 September 2010). "FP Journe: Making the most of a rich sense of history". ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Garrahan, Rachel (1 November 2016). "François-Paul Journe's Motto? 'He Invented It and Made It.'". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "The new exhibition area of the F.P. Journe Manufacture hosts a display of the Steel Time pocket watch collection, Geneva". October 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Doerr, Elizabeth (16 Jan 2016). "F.P. Journe Displays Extensive Library Of Jean-Claude Sabrier At Geneva Atelier". quillandpad.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Inauguration of the Cadraniers and Boîtiers de Genève". fpjourne.com. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  9. 1 2 Mastine-Frost, Justin (9 February 2017). "Watch of the Week: F.P. Journe Octa Sport ARS Titanium". finance.yahoo.com. Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  10. ↑ Shekar 2015, p. 31.
  11. ↑ "The Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie is pleased to welcome F.P. Journe as a new partner". fpjourne.com. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 Walston, Oliver. "David & Goliath: A comparison of four contrasting watch companies; Big, Small, Old & New. Patek Phillipe, Phillipe Dufour, Blancpain & FP Journe". Lusso. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  13. ↑ "Sonnerie Souveraine". fpjourne.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  14. ↑ Neo, Simon (31 August 2016). "Review: F.P. Journe Centigraphe Souverain". deployant.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  15. 1 2 Barrett, Cara (30 June 2015). "The F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain Bleu, A Unique Tantalum-Cased Watch, For Only Watch 2015". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  16. ↑ Naas, Roberta (7 November 2015). "Only Watch 2015 Auction Results: $11+ Million Raised for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research". forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  17. ↑ Clymer, Benjamin (5 July 2017). "The F.P. Journe Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph For Only Watch 2017". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  18. 1 2 Bues, John (13 January 2018). "The F.P. Journe Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  19. ↑ Bues, Jon (11 November 2017). "F.P. Journe Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph Fetches 1.15 Million CHF At Only Watch, Becoming One Of The Most Expensive Independent Wristwatches Ever". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  20. ↑ "Breaking records: 2017's most expensive watches sold at auction". telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  21. ↑ Clymer, Benjamin (18 May 2015). "Some Quick Thoughts On The Collectibilty of (Special) F.P. Journe Watches". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  22. ↑ "200,000 CHF for the Chronometre Optimum". 10 May 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  23. 1 2 3 Clymer, Benjamin (6 October 2016). "F.P. Journe Launches Certified Pre-Owned Program, And Why This Is The Best News To Come Out Of Switzerland All Year". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  24. 1 2 "F.P. Journe Patrimoine: One Year Later". fpjourne.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.

Bibliography

  • Shekar, Kiran (2015). F.P. Journe The First 30 Years (5th ed.). ISBN 9780692294543.
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