F.P. Journe

F.P. Journe, also known as Francois-Paul Journe and Montres Journe SA is a Swiss boutique producer of high-end luxury watches that range from simple dress watches to highly complicated mechanical timepieces that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Founded in 1999, F. P. Journe has made a name for itself with its distinctive watch design style, high level of refinement, and focus on craftsmanship.

F. P. Journe is a manufacturer of Swiss watch dials, cases, movements, and around 800 complete watches per year. Its founder, Francois-Paul Journe is still at the helm of the brand, although in 2018 Chanel acquired 20% of the company for an undisclosed amount. It remains the only luxury watchmaker to still be based in central Geneva, headquartered in a converted gaslamp factory in the Coulouvreniere Rois neighborhood. The company's motto, Invenit et Fecit (Latin for "[He] invented it and made it") stands for its ability to design and make the entirety of a watch.

Francois-Paul Journe was born in Marseille in 1957, graduating from the Parisian watchmaking school in 1976. The man has exhibited immense talent for watch movement design through his highly advanced calibres such as the Tourbillon Souverain, Grand Sonnerie, Chronometre Optimum, and Centigraphe. F.P. Journe watches are currently only available through company-owned boutiques and official retail partnerships.

Some of the most collectible F. P. Journe watch collections include the Octa, Octa Luna, and Chronometre Souverain lines, as well as highly limited and complicated timepieces that contain complex escapement systems, tourbillon, or calendar mechanisms. F. P. Journe has even developed his own quartz movement for its Elegante line with a mechanical motion sensor that allows the watch to shut down partially and conserve energy when it is not being worn.

For watch enthusiasts, the most popular F. P. Journe watches tend to fall within the Octa line.

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