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At a time when watch brands favoured retailers for their distribution, François-Paul Journe chose not to follow convention. He was the first to open a subsidiary and a boutique under his own name in Aoyama, in central Tokyo. He took a bold step, relying above all on his instinct and his admiration for Japan, a country that cultivates both modernity and age-old traditions.
Just a stone’s throw from the Nezu Museum, in the Omotesando district,
the F.P.Journe Boutique opened its doors in September 2003 inside ‘La
Collezione’, the work of Tadao Ando, the architect of spirituality,
celebrated in his country as a national treasure, whose minimalist style
is characterised by geometric shapes in concrete and a subtle mastery
of natural light. Initially housed on the 1st floor, the installation of
a monumental double staircase in April 2004 made it possible to connect
the ground floor, bringing the total surface area to 300 m2.
To echo the curves of the balustrade, display cases were specially
designed by Swiss metalworker Xavier Dietlin. They would be called Archange. Timeless, they resemble sculptures and are still the common thread running through all the F.P.Journe Boutiques.
The layout was entirely imagined by Seihachi Sagawa and François-Paul
Journe, each element having been meticulously chosen to create a
singular place reflecting its philosophy. Before crossing the threshold,
one notices the original door handle manufactured in Japan and
fashioned in the effigy of the rotor of the Octa calibre.
The interior
decoration perpetuates the long history of watchmaking. Portraits of the
great master watchmakers of the 17th and 18th centuries take pride of
place in small alcoves, while workbenches, “Quinquet” lamps, lathes and
other antique tools elegantly decorate the different areas, not
forgetting the library, rich in works on the art and measurement of
time. And, for the first time in the world in a watchmaking boutique,
there’s a bar where collectors and enthusiasts can meet “as if at home”
for a coffee and a chat about their passion and favourite subject. To
complete the décor, the walls are adorned with large monochrome frescoes
showing watchmakers at work, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in
the world of the Manufacture.
The Tokyo
Boutique was an important milestone in the brand’s history and the
starting point for its worldwide expansion. Today,12 F.P.Journe
Boutiques and Maisons welcome our collectors, from Hong Kong to Geneva,
from Paris to New York. To thank the customers of its Boutiques,
François-Paul Journe decided to create the Tokyo Boutique Anniversaire
Series in their honour. The first edition, produced in 2005, was an
exclusive version of the Chronomètre Souverain (20 pieces), with a
polished Titanium case, an 18K 6N Gold crown and a ruthenium dial. This
was followed by the Chronomètre à Résonance in 2006 (12 pieces), the
Tourbillon Souverain in 2007 (20 pieces), the Octa Perpétuelle in 2009
(99 pieces) and, finally, the Centigraphe Souverain in 2016 to celebrate
the tenth anniversary of each of its Boutiques (80 pieces in all), each
piece being numbered and engraved with the name of the corresponding
city.
Chronographe FB
To celebrate twenty years of presence in Japan, an event was
organised in the Tokyo Boutique, bringing together a community of
enthusiasts and collectors from the four corners of the globe.
The
highlight of the evening was the presentation of the commemorative
piece: the Chronographe FB.
F.P.Journe Chronographe FB - 20th Anniversary of the Tokyo Boutique
This
latest iteration takes up the aesthetic codes of the previous versions:
40 mm polished Titanium case, 18K 6N Gold crown and pushers, ruthenium
dial on Gold, sapphire counters, complemented by a burgundy alligator
leather strap mounted on an 18K 6N Gold folding clasp.
The new
Calibre 1518.2 features a «fly-back» function that allows the wearer to
reset and restart the chronograph instantly by simply pressing the
pushers at 4h, thus enabling successive measurements to be taken.
The
tachymeter scale indicates the speed for a distance based on 1000m using
the chronograph seconds hand, which makes one complete revolution in 2
minutes.
The minute counter at 3h rotates in 60 minutes, with each jump
of the hand equalling 2 minutes. At 9h is the movement’s second hand
counter. Subtly integrated into the ruthenium dial, the very large date
is positioned at 6h.
Dial: ruthenium-coated Guilloché Silver, counters in sapphire Hands: 5N gilt, red lacquered and ivory Steel Polished Titanium Anniversary case, crown and pushers in 18K 6N Gold Diameter: 40 mm Overall height: 10.4 mm Movement : Calibre 1518.2 In 18K rose Gold Mechanical with manual winding
Crown with 3 positions Position 1: winding Position 2: correction of the date Position 3: time setting Pusher at 2h for chronograph start and stop functions Pusher at 4h for chronograph reset and flyback functions Indications : Hours, minutes and flyback chronograph seconds (2 minutes per revolution) in the center 60-second counter at 9h 60-minute counter at 3h Big date at 6h Dimensions : Overall diameter: 34.20 mm Casing-up diameter: 33.60 mm Overall height: 5.90 mm Height of hands: 2.20 mm Diameter of stem thread: S1.20 mm Balance : In-line lever escapement, 15-tooth escape wheel Chronometric with four adjustable inertia weights Anachron balance spring Mobile stud holders Free-sprung balance Nivatronic laser-welded to collet Pinned GE stud Frequency : 21,600 v/h (3Hz) Inertia : 10.10 mg*cm2 Angle of lift : 52° Amplitude : 0h dial up: 300° 24h dial up: 260° Power reserve : 80 hours Finishing : Circular stripes on the bridges, circular graining on the baseplate, polished screw heads with chamfered slots, pegs with polished rounded ends, straight-grained steel work Number of Parts : Movement without dial: 245 Cased up with strap: 305 Jewels: 25
Geneva - June 29, 2023 - For its fifth participation in Only Watch, F.P.Journe presents a unique model designed exclusively for the occasion, the Chronomètre Furtif Bleu.
The Chronomètre Furtif takes its name from the difficulty of reading the time if the watch is not facing you, as the blue enamel dial reveals the frosted numerals only in the reflection of light.
In addition, the moon phase and power reserve indications are integrated into the movement and visible only on the back. It is therefore a watch whose indications can be enjoyed only by its owner.
Movement Calibre 1522 Manual winding, 38 turns of the crown 18K rose Gold Dimensions of the movement Overall diameter: 33.50 mm Overall height: 5.90 mm Height of winding system: 2.20 mm Diameter of stem thread: S0.90 mm Balance Balance with 4 inertia weights Flat Anachron microflamed spring Mobile stud holder Free-sprung balance Nivatronic laser-welded to the collet Pinned GE stud Frequency: 21600 V/H, 3 Hz Inertia: 10.10mg*cm2 Angle of lift:52° Amplitude:12 h dial up: 320° 24 h dial up:280° Main Characteristics Time setting in position 3 and moon in position 2 of the crown. Escapement: Linear lever escapement 15 teeth
Dial Translucent blue Grand Feu enamel with laser-engraved matt numerals and track Matt blue hour and minute hands Orange seconds hand Autonomy56 +/- 2 hours Finishing Baseplate partly circular grained Steelwork with polished chamfers Polished screw heads with chamfered slots Pegs with polished rounded ends Case Tantalum Diameter: 42 mm Total height: 9.50mm Finishing: Sand-blasted case, polished and sand-blasted bezel, polished caseband decoration, polished chamfers Bracelet Tantalum 3-row flat-link Finish: sand-blasted with polished chamfers Number of parts Movement without dial: 197 Cased up with bracelet: 422 Jewels:21
🔰Edition Limitation: Unique piece for Only Watch2023
🔴Prices Lot21Estimated at CHF200,000 - CHF 400,000 💰
In anticipation of the production of a small series of a timepiece inspired by the FFC Blue prototype, a unique piece for Only Watch 2021, it seems useful to revisit its genesis and its unique way of reading the time, made possible by a hand whose fingers come to life as the hours pass.
The story of how the FFC Blue was created is like a fairy tale and for this reason deserves to be told again for those who do not know it. It began in 2009 when Mrs. Eleanor Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola’s wife, gave her illustrious filmmaker husband the Chronomètre à Résonance, which she found chic and elegant. Delighted with the gift, he immediately sent an invitation to its creator to come and meet him at his “Inglenook” winery in the Napa Valley. When they met in 2012, they discussed the different principles of representing the passing of time and the filmmaker asked if a watchmaker had ever considered displaying the hours in the way the ancients used to give them, by counting them on their fingers.
The idea of ticking the 12 digits of the hours with 5 fingers had appealed to François-Paul who, in 2014, wanted to take up the challenge of inventing an animated hand capable of displaying it in the same way. His motivation led him to start prototyping the FFC Blue watch the same year, which was supposed to go on sale at Only Watch2021.
History in motion
After having found, with Francis Ford Coppola, how to present the 12 digits of the hours with a single hand and 5 fingers, François-Paul set out to design a mechanism capable of adequately transcribing these digits into digital signs.
To avoid falling into naturalism, this artist, who is known to have a passion for history, like one of his sons who today is a professional historian, chose to draw his inspiration from a drawing of a prosthesis made by the famous French barber-surgeon Ambroise Paré (1509/1510 -1590).
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTOFor those not familiar with him, he is the one to whom we owe, thanks to his competence and understanding of the human body, undeniable progress in medicine. The mechanised hand found on the front of the FFC Blue is inspired by the one developed by this Renaissance physician.
Initially thought in bronze by its inventor, the final hand for the watch was made of engraved titanium, used to reduce the weight of the moving components so as to not affect the energy consumption of the caliber, the Octa 1300launched by the Manufacture F.P.Journe in 2001. As François-Paul points out, “The most important thing in watchmaking is what is least visible. In this case, it was a matter of getting five fingers to move with the least amount of effort”.
Managing the available energy
In order to use only the energy coming from the barrel, which ensures a power reserve of 5 days for the piece, the choice was made to install a “remontoir d’égalité” between the primary gear train and the display, as is done in the clocks of buildings when the hands to be moved are long and heavy.
Every hour, and for 40 minutes, the “remontoir d’égalité”, formed by a spring blade enclosed in a kind of barrel, a trigger and a sort of anchor mounted on one side on a wheel with an eccentric in its center, is rewound by the movement.
On the hour, the mechanism described by François-Paul as a sort of escapement acting once an hour, is released so that the energy accumulated from the main barrel can, through the intermediary of this tangentially acting fork, set in motion the series of 10 cams whose purpose is to control the movement of the fingers of the hand.
Placed on the left side and visible between the rotating minutes ring mounted on a large extra-flat ball bearing with a fixed cursor placed at noon, they make one revolution in 12 hours, each one activating a series of springs and toggles acting on the rise and fall of the 4 fingers, but also the translation of the thumb. The shape of the cams, associated with the teeth of each one, acts on the fingers which are mounted on a steel sling and which move then, practically without friction, like a loom shuttle.
Thanks to this ingenious system, the energy required to operate one finger, four fingers between 5 and 6 o’clock as well as between 9 and 10 o’clock, is always the same and calibrated so that it is done in complete safety and, above all, without affecting the chronometry of the regulating group.
Reinventing how time is displayed
By means of miniaturisation work pushed to the extreme and seven years of incessant labor spent making the whole thing reliable, the master, supported by the skills gathered within his manufacture, has managed to integrate all the components of the automatic caliber and this astonishing anthropomorphic mobile into a case measuring 42 mm in diameter and only 10,7 mm thick.
To achieve this exploit, François-Paul eliminated the dial and replaced the minute hand, which was impossible to use in the traditional way, with a rotating ring mounted on a large extra-flat ball bearing, as he did for the perpetual calendar of the Astronomic Souveraine. This modification made it possible to gain the few millimeters necessary for the placement of the articulated hand sculpted by a master engraver.
So, in the end, what does this high-flying timepiece bring to the table besides its original display? It proves that the best way to make a complicated watch is to think about how to save energy in order to make it work without having to add any. As François-Paul says, the watchmaker must have a light hand when designing a movement.
In the end, the Octa caliber is perfect for this approach because it has a constant and linear force and torque for 5days. By optimising the friction and using only the smoothest part of the spring, we find a very linear torque that allows adding functions without being afraid that everything will stop. Here’s the proof!
Case Platinum PT 950,unique case Dimensions: Ø: 42mm / Thickness: 10.70 mm. Number of parts_ Movement without dial: 396 Cased up on leather strap: 436 Jewels: 63 Dial Instantaneous digital hours indicated by the animated fingers of a Titanium hand Rotating minutes dial Mouvement Calibre Automatic FFC 1300.3 in 18K rose Gold. Number of components: Movement: 396 Unidirectional oscillating weight in 22K 5N Gold, engraved Ambroise Paré (1509-1590) & F.F.Coppola. Functions & Complications: 2
Dimensions of the movement_ Overall diameter: 34.20 mm Casing-up diameter: 30.40 mm Overall height: 8.10 mm Height of winding system: 3.28 mm Diameter of stem thread: S1.20 mm Balancier_ Balance with four adjustable inertia weights Anachron flat balance spring Mobile stud holder Free-sprung Nivatronic laser soldered balance spring Pinned GE stud Slipping mainspring Frequency: 21’600 V/h, 3Hz Inertia: 10.10 mg*cm2 Angle of lift: 52° Amplitude: 12h dial up: > 280° 90h dial up: > 220° Escapement_ In-line lever escapement, 15-tooth wheel Main characteristics_ Two position crown: Winding of the watch in position 1, clockwise Correction of time in position 2, anti-clockwise Autonomy:120 +/- 12 hours Winding speed on a watch winder: 274 clockwise rotations per 24 hours Finishing_ High grade Circular stripes on the bridges Titanium bridges with Titalyt® coating Baseplate partly circular grained Polished screw heads with chamfered slots Pegs with polished rounded ends Steelwork with polished chamfers Bracelet Alligator strap
Left: a possibly unique, specially commissioned, F.P.Journe 'Chronomètre à Résonance’, 2019 edition, in platinum, with resonance-controlled twin independent gear-train movement, constant force, power reserve and ice blue mother-of-pearl dial (Estimate: HK$ 5,000,000-10,000,000).
Right: limited to 20 pieces, an extremely rare F.P.Journe platinum Tourbillon Souverain, 'Reference TN' for 'Tourbillon Nouveau', with ruby dial, constant force, dead beat seconds, power reserve (Estimate: HK$ 3,200,000-6,400,000).
Hong Kong, 18 April 2023 – Christie's Hong Kong is honoured to present theUltimate Collection, a single-owner collection to be offered at a live auction taking place on 26 May,at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Each watch in theUltimate Collectionstands out for its rarity and significance in horological history but, and also for its pristine condition – some timepieces even remain "factory double-sealed." Over the past 20 years a discerning private collector has meticulously assembled theUltimate Collection, which includes some of the most sought-after and hard-to-find models from prestigious watchmaking houses such as Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Rolex, and A. Lange & Söhne. The collection also features exceptional timepieces from renowned independent watchmakers such as F.P. Journe, considered the greatest living watchmaker, and the award-winning "Horological Brothers" Grönefeld, who received accolades at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in 2022.
Treasures in the collection encompass Patek Philippe sports models, special dials, and potentially unique commissioned pieces, such as the 'Breguet numerals' Ref. 5270G-024. Also offered are early A. Lange & Söhne 'Lange 1' masterpieces, and sought-after Rolex Daytonas, ranging from contemporary to vintage, including a notable and impeccable Paul Newman Ref. 6264.
Of particular significance in this collection are specially commissioned pieces by F.P. Journe, such as this Chronomètre à Résonance with a striking ice blue mother-of-pearl dial.
A possibily one-of-a-kind F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance and one of the super-exclusive ‘RT’ or ‘Résonance Trois’ edition, produced for one year only in celebration of the iconic model’s 20th anniversary in 2019. Only available as standard in either rose gold or platinum with 40 mm cases with correspondingly coloured dials, the present platinum watch is an exceptional piece fitted with a beautifully lustrous blue mother of pearl dial.
A F.P. Journe watch of this significance would only have been offered to a most valued and loyal client of the brand, such as the present owner, personally approved by Mr. Journe. It is estimated to fetch between HK$ 5,000,000 and HK$ 10,000,000.
This rare version of F.P. Journe’s second-generation Tourbillon Souverain, 'Reference TN' for 'Tourbillon Nouveau', fitted with a precious ruby dial, was made in a highly exclusive edition of only 20 pieces.
Usually hardstone dials are produced as a circular disk in order to make the cutting action simpler and to minimize the risk of stress points from corners. However, F.P. Journe characteristically took a different approach, due to the configuration of apertures on the Tourbillon Souverain dial. The two crescent shaped pieces above and below are complex with numerous curves and differing radii, as well as the screw holes which have to be drilled.
Ultra-exclusive limited series pieces such as this are rare, usually only available by invitation or upon request from F.P. Journe, and are now regarded as some of the most important examples of each model.
Created circa 2019, it is estimated to fetch between HK$ 3,200,000 and HK$ 6,400,000.
================== CHRISTIE’S HONG KONG: Gigi Ho gigiho@christies.com Tel. +852 2978 6719 ---------------------------------------
