François-Paul Journe

Celebrities

François-Paul Journe builds on ancestral techniques instilled with the inventiveness that has made him one of the most influential names in Haute Horlogerie for the third millennium

Marseilles-born François-Paul Journe learned his craft at École d’Horlogerie de Paris but moreso while working for his uncle, a clock restorer, which is also when he was introduced to the world of collectors. The young watchmaker was filled with admiration for the eighteenth-century masters - Antide Janvier (1751-1835) and Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) foremost among them – and for the subtle mechanisms they invented. Eager to spread his wings, he set up on his own, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district of Paris, where he devoted himself to the production of “unique pieces” - as the master watchmakers of the Enlightenment would have done. Having completed his first tourbillon pocket watch in 1978, he was commissioned to produce a planetarium mechanism for Asprey of London. This was followed by a constant-force tourbillon pocket watch in 1982, a pocket chronometer with automatic winding in 1986, a planetary pocket watch in 1987 and a sympathique clock in 1988. François-Paul Journe explored complications and honed his skills. Leaving Paris for Sainte-Croix in Switzerland, in 1989 he set up a movement manufacturing company together with Vianney Halter and Denis Flageollet (now at the head of De Bethune). A second business would follow, TIM SA, which developed complication calibres for Haute Horlogerie brands.

Although he completed his first wristwatch, a tourbillon, in 1991, it would be a further eight years before the presentation, at Baselworld in 1999, of his debut collection of chronometers under the name “F.P.Journe – Invenit et Fecit”. He chose this Latin phrase, which signifies “he invented and he made”, to indicate that the movements were entirely developed and built at his workshop – which the following year relocated to a converted gaslight factory in central Geneva. An expanding circle of admirers were seduced by the François-Paul Journe style, illustrated first by the Tourbillon Souverain then by a series of remarkable timepieces such as the Chronomètre à Résonance, a hallmark of his collections, and the Sonnerie Souveraine. The first F.P.Journe automatic movement saw daylight inside the Octa in 2001, and would go on to incorporate various complications.

Success came quickly, reflected in the numerous awards and distinctions that François-Paul Journe has received. His work builds on ancestral techniques, with movements crafted from gold, instilled with the inventiveness that established him early on as one of the most influential names in Haute Horlogerie for the third millennium. With production in the region of a thousand watches a year, the brand has managed its growth skilfully, choosing the right moment to open F.P.Journe boutiques in the major export markets and evolving its offering with collections such as Élégante, a range of women’s watches launched in 2014 and equipped with an innovative electromechanical movement or, more recently, the Astronomic Souveraine astronomical watch with its 18 functions. Chanel’s acquisition in 2018 of a 20% stake in F.P.Journe “to ensure the longevity and future of [the] brand” speaks volumes.

1976

Graduated from École d’Horlogerie de Paris

1983

Completed his first pocket watch with tourbillon and remontoir d’égalité.

1989

Creation in Sainte-Croix of THA with Denis Flageollet and Vianney Halter.

1991

Completed his first tourbillon wristwatch with remontoir d’égalité.

1994

Prix Gaïa in the Craftsmanship-Creation category.

1999

Tourbillon Souverain with remontoir d’égalité became the first collection under the F.P.Journe Invenit et Fecit name.