I could really use a little ‘Journe’ in my life, but the privilege don’t come cheap.There is no per se “entry-level” F.P. Journe watch – that isn’t exactly what the brand is about. You are supposed to earn up to a F.P. Journe – after you’ve toiled away earned and learning. Francois Paul doesn’t want his watches on your wrist until you can fully appreciate them, and that takes some time being a watch nerd. However, if you are looking for a relatively reasonable way to get in the highly desirable brand, this Chronometre Souverain is a good “budget bet” compared to their $600,000 plus steel minute repeater watch. For about $25,000 – $30,000, you can get a gold or platinum watch with a beautiful refined design, wearer-focused feature set, and a stunning in-house made movement.

Being 40mm wide, this is your classic moderately sized watch with a thin profile and a super legible face. As the movement is manually wound, you have a handy power reserve indicator on the dial (56 hours), and a subsidiary seconds dial. While the dial design isn’t symmetrical, it is nicely balanced. Imbued with brand character, this represents tried and true method of having a great looking watch dial that isn’t too simple or too complicated, and won’t give you a headache to look at.

The periphery of the dial has a minute scale and Arabic hour numerals. The inner dial is  machine guilloche engraved. You either love or hate FP Journe’s style of hands, but they are pretty legible. Over on the back of the watch is another sapphire crystal over the in-house made and hand-finished movement. In this case it is the Calibre 1304, and the bridges are in gold – which is not very commonly found. Oh, and the “Chronometre” part of the Chronometre Souverain’s name does actually imply that the movement is accurate. All FP Journe watches are made in Geneva proper. The case is available in gold or platinum is just a great want to enjoy a smooth sense of luxury on your wrist. See one of these F.P. Journe Chronometre Souverain watches available on James List here.