F.P. Journe Watches

About F.P. Journe Watches

Francois-Paul Journe, the founder of the namesake brand, believes in the perfect balance of artistry and traditional watchmaking engineering when it comes to his philosophy for the brand. First and foremost, Journe views himself as a creative and an artist. In turn, he believes each timepiece he creates is an extension of himself and his artistic spirit. On the other hand, Journe has a deep and undying respect for the labor and handwork required in traditional watchmaking. With every single watch he designs, he hopes to bring honor to the men behind the science of watchmaking, including the inventors, engineers, and master watchmakers who have paved the way in the industry. While Journe revers the eighteenth century as the golden age of watchmaking, he remains attune and fully rooted in the development of the watch industry in modern day. In all that it does, the F.P. Journe brand maintains a constant focus on bridging the gaps between watchmaking as an art form and as a science as well as the divide between the traditions of the past and the advancements of the present. The result is a collection of timepieces with an intricate and elusive mechanical core and a sturdy and dependable exterior.

Journe’s journey into the world of watchmaking officially took off in 1976 upon his graduation from the Ecole D’Horlogerie de Paris. While Journe was thankful for his formal education and its ability to provide a sound foundation in the craft of watchmaking, he was eager to leave academia and allow his creative spirit to flourish. For the next eight years, Journe worked in Paris at his uncle’s antique watch restoration workshop. This experience allowed Journe to further his knowledge and understanding of the watchmaking principles of the past while exploring his own creativity and skills. One of his early endeavors was building his own tourbillon chronometer. It took him nearly five years of immense dedication and tedious handwork to complete his first tourbillon pocket watch. To this day, Journe still treasures this timepiece as part of his personal collection. During his time working for his uncle, Journe was also able to build connections with prominent collectors in the area who frequented the workshop, which helped him to eventually establish his own workshop in a nearby neighborhood in Paris. Here he continued to practice building his own timepieces from the ground up, and he began receiving commissions from important collectors as he made a name for himself in the industry. As time continued on and Journe’s business and reputation grew, he began to acquire numerous accolades for his excellent work and craftsmanship. Finally, Journe had outgrown his modest workshop and decided it was time to establish a movement manufacture in Switzerland. At this time, Journe was still solely creating timepieces based on commissions from individuals, other watch brands, and the like. Later, he left to build his own firm in Geneva. From there the namesake brand F.P. Journe was officially born.

The monumental year of 1999 marks the brand’s first official timepiece bearing the F.P. Journe name. It was presented at the acclaimed international jewelry and watch trade show, Baselworld, and received rave reviews. The F.P. Journe brand skyrocketed into the new millennium with and incredibly complex and innovative timepiece, the Sonnerie Souveraine. This watch is notable for its dial, which reveals a portion of the mechanism. To this day, it is still part of a private collection. The brand’s success in the new millennium called for the company to expand its workshops in the center of Geneva. 2001 marked another benchmark achievement for the F.P. Journe brand. They solidified a partnership with the illustrious watch brand Harry Winston to create a collection of eighteen exquisite, one of a kind timepieces, the Opus One collection. In the years to come, the F.P. Journe brand would go on to grow and thrive, outdoing itself with each and every subsequent collection. The brand has continued to garner the attention of watch collectors, enthusiasts, and the world for its horological accomplishments and awards.