At SIHH 2018 earlier this year, F.P. Journe unveiled a new sports watch called the F.P. Journe LineSport Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante. It’s notable for a number of reasons. F.P. Journe doesn’t regularly come up with sports watches and this is a pretty interesting one with a highly complicated movement. The second is that it is based on the Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph that was auctioned off at Only Watch for 1.15 million Swiss Francs. Let’s take a closer look at it now.

All images by Ariel Adams

The new LineSport Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante comes in a 44mm wide case. That’s large for an F.P. Journe watch but entirely fitting since this is a sports watch. Thickness is just 12mm, which isn’t too bad. On the wrist, the F.P. Journe LineSport Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante wears comfortably and has good wrist presence. Three versions are available; there’s platinum, red gold, and titanium. The platinum model will come with a blue-mauve silver dial, while the red gold model will come with a ruthenium-plated silver dial, and finally, the titanium model will come with an anthracite dial made out of aluminum alloy.

The case is well constructed and finished. There are two low-profile pushers in matching metals at 2 and 4 o’clock. The former starts, stops, and resets the chronograph while the latter activates the split-seconds function. Rubber inserts are used around the watch to add a dash of sportiness, and I can see this being a point of contention for many people. The crown is rubber coated and the links of the bracelet are lined with rubber. Personally, I’m not a fan of rubber accented watches and I think the rubber accented bracelet is a bit much. That said, the dial is really attractive.

There are subtle differences between the various models, but all three versions of Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante watch will have ceramic inserts for the tachymeter scale. Additionally, the tachymeter scale also uses the same font as the Only Watch Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph. Dial configuration is identical for all three models with the running seconds at 9 o’clock and 30-minute chronograph register at 3 o’clock. At 6 o’clock, you have an oversized date display.

The titanium model has the sportiest dial. The dial has a slate color made out of aluminum alloy. But what’s really unique are its two sub-dials because they are made out of sapphire discs and have striking red hands. The oversized date display also uses bright red fonts. Finally, the iconic Journe-style hands are filled with Super-LumiNova.

The platinum and red gold models have dials that are more classic and elegant. The center of the dial features guilloche and the two sub-dials are in more traditional silver to provide contrast and improve legibility. The hands and indices are made out of precious metals. In the platinum model, the applied hour indices and hour and minute hands are white gold, whereas the red gold model uses red gold for the applied hour indices and hour and minute hands. There’s no Super-LumiNova for the hands on these two models.

The Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante features a sapphire display caseback and it is a joy to be able to marvel at the movement within. The caliber 1518 is based on the movement found in the Only Watch Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph but with substantial changes to accommodate the oversized date display. It is a hand-wound movement and has a power reserve of 80 hours. Like the movement found in the Only Watch Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph, the caliber 1518 also uses a direct gearing with a rocking pinion to reduce stutter when the chronograph is activated.

Although the movement in all three models is the same, different materials are used. The titanium model’s movement has aluminum plates and bridges, whereas the red gold and platinum models have 18k red gold bridges and plates. Regardless, the movements in all three models are finished to extremely high standards with hand beveled bridges, polished arms and screw heads, graining, Côtes de Genève, and perlage.

Though the movement within is based on the Only Watch Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph, substantial changes have been made. Journe has said that the Only Watch Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph would be unique and he has shown that he is a man of his word. That said, it is clear that these new Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante watches pay homage to that very special watch. The F.P. Journe Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante watch is priced at 58,000 CHF in titanium, 78,000 CHF in red gold, and 106,000 CHF in platinum. fpjourne.com