F. P. Journe
![]() | |
Company type | Private (SA) |
---|---|
Industry | Designer watchmaking |
Founded | Geneva, Switzerland 1999; 25 years ago (1999) |
Founders | François-Paul Journe |
Headquarters | Geneva , Switzerland |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | luxury watches |
Production output | 900-1000 pieces (2023) |
Number of employees | 150-200 |
Website | www |
F. P. Journe (legally Montres Journe SA) is a Swiss luxury watch manufacture d'horlogerie founded in 1999 by François-Paul Journe.[1] 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]
The company's motto, Invenit et Fecit (Latin: "[He] invented it and made it"), denotes that the company designs and builds the entirety of the watch movements.[4][5][6]
F.P.Journe is the only watchmaker still based in central Geneva,[7] with company headquarters, manufacturing facilities, and an exhibition space with library housed in a converted gaslamp factory in the Coulouvrenière Rois neighborhood.[8][9][10] 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,[11] a municipality in the Canton of Geneva. In 2018, 20% of the company was acquired by Chanel for an undisclosed amount.[12]
History
François-Paul Journe was born in Marseille, France 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][5] 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 CHF 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 CHF 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 [fr]. In 2015, a special purple dial Tourbillon Souverain raised CHF 650,000 while a special purple dial Élegante raised CHF 55,000.[23] In 2017, a special purple dial Chronomètre Optimum sold for CHF 200,000.[24] In 2023, a special purple dial Octa sold for 1,000,000 SFr.
Boutiques
F.P. Journe watches are only available through company-owned boutiques and official retail partnerships (branded as "ESPACE F.P. Journe"). The current 12 company-owned boutiques, listed in order of opening date, are located in:
- Tokyo, opened May 2003
- Hong Kong, opened October 2006
- Geneva, opened April 2007
- New York City, opened November 2009
- Paris, opened December 2009
- Los Angeles, opened July 2013
- Beirut, opened September 2014
- Kyiv, opened February 2017
- Miami, opened March 2019
- Dubai, opened October 2019
- London, opened September 2023
- Bangkok, opened January 2024
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
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c d e "GPHG WINNERS 2001-2017" (PDF). gphg.org. Fondation du Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ "F.P. Journe - 30 Years Of Watchmaking Creations". fhs.swiss. Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ a b c Clymer, Benjamin (14 July 2014). "Introducing The F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain, Octa Lune, And Octa Reserve". Hodinkee. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Shekar 2015, p. 31.
- ^ Simonian, Haig (10 September 2010). "FP Journe: Making the most of a rich sense of history". ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ Garrahan, Rachel (1 November 2016). "François-Paul Journe's Motto? 'He Invented It and Made It.'". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Doerr, Elizabeth (16 Jan 2016). "F.P. Journe Displays Extensive Library Of Jean-Claude Sabrier At Geneva Atelier". quillandpad.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Inauguration of the Cadraniers and Boîtiers de Genève". fpjourne.com. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ Besler, Carol. "Chanel Acquires A Minority Stake In F.P.Journe, Extends Its Reach In Luxury Watchmaking". Forbes.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ "Sonnerie Souveraine". fpjourne.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ Neo, Simon (31 August 2016). "Review: F.P. Journe Centigraphe Souverain". deployant.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Naas, Roberta (7 November 2015). "Only Watch 2015 Auction Results: $11+ Million Raised for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research". Forbes. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ Clymer, Benjamin (5 July 2017). "The F.P. Journe Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph For Only Watch 2017". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ a b Bues, John (13 January 2018). "The F.P. Journe Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Breaking records: 2017's most expensive watches sold at auction". The Telegraph. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ Clymer, Benjamin (18 May 2015). "Some Quick Thoughts On The Collectibilty of (Special) F.P. Journe Watches". hodinkee.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ "200,000 CHF for the Chronomètre Optimum". 10 May 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ "Michael Jordan-Backed WatchBox Sees Sales Boost From Rarer Timepieces". Bloomberg. Bloomberg.
- ^ a b "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.
External links
- Official site
- Forum on timezone.com
- F. P. Journe - Past, Present and Future