F.P. Journe Writes a Legendary Chapter in Independent Watchmaking

The F.P. Journe FFC “Mechanical Hand” watch achieved an astonishing HKD 84 million at auction—ten times its pre-sale estimate, setting a new record for independent watchmaking. What makes it a masterpiece in the eyes of connoisseurs?

The answer is written directly on the dial, in Latin: “Invenit et Fecit” — Invented and Made. It signifies not only invention, but personal execution. This phrase once appeared on original works submitted to the French Royal Academy of Sciences in the 18th century, reserved exclusively for true innovators. For F.P. Journe, it represents the most uncompromising promise in watchmaking.

 

The story begins with François-Paul Journe, born in 1957 in Marseille, France. At just 14 years old, Journe entered watchmaking school. After graduating in 1976 from the École d’Horlogerie de Paris, he joined his uncle’s workshop, dedicating himself to restoring masterpieces by 18th-century masters such as Breguet. This deep immersion in classical horology would become the foundation of his future designs.

 

In 1983, after five years of work, Journe completed his first tourbillon pocket watch, a project that would define his mechanical philosophy.

In 1985, he opened his own workshop on Rue de Verneuil in Paris, focusing on bespoke commissions for collectors. By 1989, he had moved to Switzerland to establish his own movement manufacturing facility.

 

In 1991, Journe completed his first tourbillon wristwatch equipped with a constant-force mechanism, featuring a movement crafted from 18K gold—the direct prototype of what would later become the Tourbillon Souverain.

 

To prepare for the launch of his brand, Journe founded TIM SA in 1996, dedicated to the development of proprietary movements. In 1999, Montres Journe SA was officially established. The first series of precision chronometers bearing the inscription “F.P. Journe – Invenit et Fecit”, along with the initial 20 Tourbillon Souverain Souscription watches, marked the true beginning of the F.P. Journe wristwatch era.

Since 2000, F.P. Journe has been headquartered in a historic 1892 building in Plainpalais, central Geneva, combining workshops and exhibition spaces into a single horological sanctuary.

The brand manufactures up to 95% of its components in-house. Each watchmaker oversees the entire process—from movement assembly to case fitting—before every piece undergoes final inspection personally by François-Paul Journe himself.

Technical breakthroughs followed in rapid succession. The Chronomètre à Résonance (2000) successfully introduced the principle of resonance into wristwatches, using two interacting balance wheels to correct timing errors. The Octa automatic movement (2001) delivered an impressive 120-hour power reserve, and later evolved into complications such as large date, annual calendar, and perpetual calendar models. In 2003, the Tourbillon Souverain was further enhanced with a deadbeat seconds mechanism, earning F.P. Journe the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève “Aiguille d’Or” in 2004, the highest honor in watchmaking.

 

Collectors widely recognize the period from 1999 to 2004 as the rare and highly coveted “Brass Movement Era.”

From 2004 onward, Journe transitioned entirely to 18K rose gold movements, making the “gold movement” a defining aesthetic signature of the brand.
Only sonnerie and minute repeater watches, in pursuit of optimal acoustic resonance, are exceptions—crafted in steel instead.

 

As the brand continued to expand its creative boundaries, the Vagabondage series was introduced, featuring a wandering hours display within a boldly unconventional tonneau-shaped case—now considered a cult favorite among devoted collectors.

 

In 2007, the revolutionary Centigraphe Souverain debuted, capable of measuring time to 1/100th of a second, with its chronograph mechanism entirely isolated from the timekeeping train—an unprecedented engineering achievement.

 

In 2009, F.P. Journe unveiled the Chronomètre Bleu, stunning the watch world with its notoriously difficult-to-machine tantalum case and mesmerizing deep blue dial. With its extreme scarcity and distinctive beauty, it remains one of the most sought-after legends in the global auction market.

That same year, an unexpected cross-disciplinary connection was formed. Renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather, became captivated by the brand after receiving a Chronomètre à Résonance, chosen by his wife.

 

In 2012, Coppola met Journe and proposed a daring idea: displaying time using ancient hand gestures.

The concept—using five fingers to form the twelve hours—deeply intrigued Journe. Drawing inspiration from Renaissance-era medical illustrations of prosthetic hands by Ambroise Paré, he committed to the challenge of creating a fully articulated mechanical hand.

After seven years of development, the project was unveiled in 2021 at the Only Watch charity auction as the FFC Blue prototype.

 

To drive the five fingers without adding an additional power source, Journe integrated a constant-force mechanism into the Octa 1300.3 movement. Energy released precisely at each hour activates a cam system, coordinating the vertical and lateral motion of the titanium fingers.

 

Most astonishingly, despite the extraordinary complexity, the entire mechanism is housed within a case measuring only 10.7 mm in thickness, fundamentally redefining how time can be displayed.

In 2014, Journe further challenged convention with the Élégante quartz watch, featuring a “sleep mode” that halts the movement when not worn and automatically resets to the correct time when placed back on the wrist—offering up to ten years of battery life and redefining the practicality of high-end quartz timepieces.

 

Today, F.P. Journe remains one of the very few independent manufactures led directly by the watchmaker himself, producing fewer than 900 watches per year.

 

This unwavering devotion to detail and originality has elevated his creations into enduring legends—treasured by those who truly understand watches.