Is F.P.Journe owned by Chanel?

No. Chanel bought a 20% minority stake in 2018. The company, officially Montres Journe SA, remains independent and is run by its founder, François-Paul Journe.

Where are F.P.Journe watches made?

In Geneva. Movements are made in the brand's workshops in a converted gaslamp factory in central Geneva, and its own companies Les Boîtiers de Genève and Les Cadraniers de Genève make cases and dials in Meyrin.

Why are F.P.Journe movements made of gold?

Since the start of 2004 all F.P.Journe movements have been made in 18k rose gold as a mark of the house. Watches made from 1999 to 2003 have brass movements.

How many watches does F.P.Journe make a year?

Roughly 800 to 1,000 watches a year, spread across more than 50 references. Most models are allocated through the brand's own boutiques and are hard to obtain at list price.

Switzerland · Founded 1999

F.P.Journe

The only three-time winner of the GPHG Aiguille d'Or, with movements made of rose gold.

F.P.Journe is the Geneva manufacture of French-born watchmaker François-Paul Journe. It makes roughly 800 to 1,000 watches a year, designs and builds its own movements (in 18k rose gold since 2004) and owns its case and dial makers. Sales run through its own boutiques and partner spaces; list prices start near €18,000, with demand far above supply.

History

François-Paul Journe was born in Marseille in 1957, was sent to a technical college at 14 and graduated from the Paris watchmaking school in 1976. He learned restoration from his uncle, a clock restorer, which brought him into contact with collectors and with the work of Breguet. In 1983 he completed a pocket watch with tourbillon and remontoir d'égalité, followed by a self-winding pocket chronometer in 1986, a planetary pocket watch in 1987 and a sympathique clock in 1988.

In 1989 Journe co-founded THA (Techniques Horlogères Appliquées) in Sainte-Croix with Denis Flageollet and Vianney Halter. In 1991 he completed his first tourbillon wristwatch with remontoir d'égalité. At BaselWorld 1999 the Tourbillon Souverain became the first collection signed F.P.Journe Invenit et Fecit, 'invented and made it', and Montres Journe SA was established in Geneva. The first series, known as Souscription, was financed by 20 clients and friends who paid deposits, with 20 pieces made of each early model.

In 2000 Journe opened new workshops in Geneva and presented the Chronomètre à Résonance, in which two balances influence each other through resonance, an idea he had first explored in a pocket watch. The self-winding Octa calibre followed in 2001. Until the end of 2003 movements used brass plates and bridges; from the start of 2004 every movement has been made in 18k rose gold. The brand won the Aiguille d'Or in 2004, 2006 and 2008, a record no other manufacture has matched.

The company is vertically integrated. Headquarters and workshops occupy a converted gaslamp factory in central Geneva, while casemaker Les Boîtiers de Genève and dialmaker Les Cadraniers de Genève are in Meyrin. The first boutique opened in Tokyo in May 2003, followed by Hong Kong in 2006 and Geneva in 2007. The Élégante line arrived in 2014, and in 2016 the Patrimoine Service began buying back, servicing and reselling older pieces. In 2018 Chanel acquired 20% of the company.

Charity auctions set the brand's price records. A Tourbillon Souverain Bleu fetched CHF 550,000 at Only Watch 2015 and a unique monopusher split-seconds chronograph CHF 1,150,000 in 2017. On 6 November 2021 the FFC Blue, developed with director Francis Ford Coppola, sold for CHF 4,500,000 at Only Watch, the highest price paid for an F.P.Journe. Boutiques in New York, London and Bangkok opened in 2023 and 2024.

Founders

François-Paul Journe: Founder · 1957–; Marseille-born watchmaker trained in Paris, co-founder of THA in 1989 and founder of Montres Journe SA in Geneva in 1999. Known for resonance chronometers and remontoir tourbillons.

Milestones

1983
Tourbillon pocket watch
Journe completes a pocket watch with tourbillon and remontoir d'égalité, the basis of his later Tourbillon Souverain.
1989
THA founded in Sainte-Croix
With Denis Flageollet and Vianney Halter, Journe creates Techniques Horlogères Appliquées to develop complications.
1999
Tourbillon Souverain launches the brand
The Tourbillon Souverain with remontoir d'égalité is shown at BaselWorld as the first F.P.Journe Invenit et Fecit collection.
2000
Chronomètre à Résonance
New Geneva workshops open and Journe presents the first resonance wristwatch, with two balances beating in resonance.
2003
First boutique, in Tokyo
F.P.Journe opens its first own boutique in Tokyo in May 2003.
2004
Rose gold movements, first Aiguille d'Or
All movements switch to 18k rose gold, and the Tourbillon Souverain à seconde morte wins the GPHG Aiguille d'Or.
2008
Third Aiguille d'Or
The Centigraphe Souverain wins the Aiguille d'Or after the Sonnerie Souveraine in 2006, making Journe the only three-time winner.
2018
Chanel takes 20%
Chanel acquires a 20% stake in the company for an undisclosed amount.
2021
FFC Blue sells for CHF 4.5 million
The FFC Blue, developed with Francis Ford Coppola, sells for CHF 4,500,000 at Only Watch, a record for the brand.

Three things collectors know

Brass first, gold after 2003

From 1999 to 2003 Journe movements used brass plates and bridges. From the start of 2004 every movement has been made in 18k rose gold, which makes the early brass pieces a distinct collecting category.

Twenty deposits funded the start

The first Souscription watches were financed by twenty clients and friends who paid deposits in advance. Around 20 pieces were made of each early model, including the tourbillon, the Résonance and Octa variants.

It buys back its own watches

Since 2016 the Patrimoine Service has acquired out-of-production F.P.Journe watches, authenticated and serviced them in Geneva, and resold them with a new warranty card and a three-year guarantee.

Signature models

Tourbillon Souverain1999
The founding model: tourbillon with remontoir d'égalité; the dead-beat seconds version won the 2004 Aiguille d'Or.
Chronomètre à Résonance2000
Two independent movements whose balances synchronise through resonance, displayed on two dials.
Octa Automatique2001
Journe's first self-winding calibre family, the base for the Automatique, Lune and calendar models.
Chronomètre Bleu2009
39 mm tantalum case, chrome blue dial and the hand-wound 18k rose gold calibre 1304 with 56 hours of reserve.
Élégante2014
The brand's line of quartz watches with in-house movements, in 40 mm and 48 mm cases including Titalyt-treated titanium.

Questions

Is F.P.Journe owned by Chanel?: No. Chanel bought a 20% minority stake in 2018. The company, officially Montres Journe SA, remains independent and is run by its founder, François-Paul Journe.
Where are F.P.Journe watches made?: In Geneva. Movements are made in the brand's workshops in a converted gaslamp factory in central Geneva, and its own companies Les Boîtiers de Genève and Les Cadraniers de Genève make cases and dials in Meyrin.
Why are F.P.Journe movements made of gold?: Since the start of 2004 all F.P.Journe movements have been made in 18k rose gold as a mark of the house. Watches made from 1999 to 2003 have brass movements.
How many watches does F.P.Journe make a year?: Roughly 800 to 1,000 watches a year, spread across more than 50 references. Most models are allocated through the brand's own boutiques and are hard to obtain at list price.

History

Founders

Milestones

Tourbillon pocket watch

THA founded in Sainte-Croix

Tourbillon Souverain launches the brand

Chronomètre à Résonance

First boutique, in Tokyo

Rose gold movements, first Aiguille d'Or

Third Aiguille d'Or

Chanel takes 20%

FFC Blue sells for CHF 4.5 million