F. P. Journe

F. P. Journe, legally Montres Journe SA, is a Swiss-French[1] high-end watch Manufacture d'horlogerie founded in 1999 by 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,[2] Journe focuses on complex precision chronometers[3] with a production of around 800 watches per year.[4] 20% of the company was acquired by Chanel in 2018 for an undisclosed amount.[5]

Montres Journe SA
TypePrivate (SA)
IndustryDesigner watchmaking
FoundedGeneva, Switzerland
1999 (1999)
FoundersFrançois-Paul Journe
Headquarters
Geneva
,
Switzerland
Area served
Worldwide
Productsluxury watches
Production output
800 pieces (2020)
Websitewww.fpjourne.com/en

F.P.Journe is the only watchmaker still based in central Geneva,[6] with company headquarters, manufacturing facilities, and an exhibition space with library housed in a converted gaslamp factory in the Coulouvrenière Rois neighborhood.[7][8][9] 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,[10] 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.[4][11][12]

History

François-Paul Journe was born in Marseille in 1957.[13] 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.[4][11] Journe's movement designs are original and he has invented completely new systems, such as the resonance chronometer.[14]

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".[14]

Awards

F.P. Journe has won the Aiguille d'Or grand prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie on three occasions: In 2004 for the Tourbillon Souverain à seconde morte,[2] the current-generation Tourbillon Souverain with dead beat seconds; in 2006 for the Sonnerie Souverain,[2] both a Grande Sonnerie and a Petite Sonnerie for which F.P. Journe received 10 patents;[14][15] and in 2008 for the Centigraphe Souverain,[2] a chronograph with timekeeping isolated from chronograph mechanism, allowing the chronograph to measure hundredths of a second despite a 3 Hz movement.[16] No other manufacture has won the Aiguille 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.[2]

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.[17] As with the standard Tourbillon Souverain, it features an in-house rose gold movement and remontoire d'égalité, as well as dead beat seconds.[17] The Tourbillon Souverain Bleu sold for SFr 550,000 at auction.[18]

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[19] that would not be used in any other F.P Journe watches.[20] The watch sold for SFr 1,150,000 at auction, making it one of the most expensive independent wristwatches in history.[21][22] F.P. Journe later released a modified version of the movement in the "lineSport"-brand Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante series.[20]

Action Innocence

F.P. Journe has donated watches to auctions benefiting Swiss charity Action Innocence. In 2015, a special purple dial Tourbillon Souverain raised SFr 650,000 while a special purple dial Élegante raised SFr 55,000.[23] In 2017, a special purple dial Chronomètre Optimum sold for SFr 200,000.[24]

Distribution

F.P. Journe watches are only available through company-owned boutiques and official retail partnerships (branded as "ESPACE F.P. Journe"). The current ten company-owned boutiques, listed in order of opening date, 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.[25] F.P. Journe purchases, authenticates, and services the watches at their Geneva headquarters, then resells the watches via their official boutiques and online platforms such as Watchbox.[25][26][27] A new guarantee card, box, and three-year warranty accompany all watches sold via the Patrimoine Service.[27] F.P. Journe is the first Swiss manufacture to offer such a service.[25]

References
  1. "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.
  2. "GPHG WINNERS 2001-2017" (PDF). gphg.org. Fondation du Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  3. "F.P. Journe - 30 Years Of Watchmaking Creations". fhs.swiss. Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  4. Clymer, Benjamin (14 July 2014). "Introducing The F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain, Octa Lune, And Octa Reserve". Hodinkee. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  5. Besler, Carol. "Chanel Acquires A Minority Stake In F.P.Journe, Extends Its Reach In Luxury Watchmaking". Forbes.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  6. Simonian, Haig (10 September 2010). "FP Journe: Making the most of a rich sense of history". ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  7. Garrahan, Rachel (1 November 2016). "François-Paul Journe's Motto? 'He Invented It and Made It.'". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  8. "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.
  9. Doerr, Elizabeth (16 Jan 2016). "F.P. Journe Displays Extensive Library Of Jean-Claude Sabrier At Geneva Atelier". quillandpad.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  10. "Inauguration of the Cadraniers and Boîtiers de Genève". fpjourne.com. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  11. 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.
  12. Shekar 2015, p. 31.
  13. "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.
  14. 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.
  15. "Sonnerie Souveraine". fpjourne.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  16. Neo, Simon (31 August 2016). "Review: F.P. Journe Centigraphe Souverain". deployant.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  17. 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.
  18. Naas, Roberta (7 November 2015). "Only Watch 2015 Auction Results: $11+ Million Raised for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research". Forbes. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  19. Clymer, Benjamin (5 July 2017). "The F.P. Journe Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph For Only Watch 2017". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  20. Bues, John (13 January 2018). "The F.P. Journe Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  21. 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.
  22. "Breaking records: 2017's most expensive watches sold at auction". The Telegraph. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  23. Clymer, Benjamin (18 May 2015). "Some Quick Thoughts On The Collectibilty of (Special) F.P. Journe Watches". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  24. "200,000 CHF for the Chronomètre Optimum". 10 May 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  25. 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.
  26. "Michael Jordan-Backed WatchBox Sees Sales Boost From Rarer Timepieces". Bloomberg. Bloomberg.
  27. "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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