Vagabond charm

The first thing you notice is it doesn't look like your usual FP Journe watch. FP Journe-made watches have a round case. The independent watch-maker's Vagabondage III has a patented flat "Tortue" (tortoise-shaped) case, which makes it look more like a Cartier than a Francois-Paul Journe creation. Maybe the rumour that Vagabondage was first conceived for Cartier is true.

Still, the tortue shape is not altogether new to FP Journe timepieces. There are Vagabondage I and II, both with the same case as III. In any case, the un-FP Journe look of the Vagabondage series is in sync with the name given to it. "Vagabondage" is French for "vagrancy" or "wandering". So not having a round case is one way FP Journe has strayed from the beaten track.

The Vagabondage series is indeed a deliberate move to show time differently. The first Vagabondage, produced in 2004 for Antiquroum's 30th anniversary auction and launched in 2006, featured a jumping hour where the numerals for the hours are represented by a disk on the dial. The window surrounding the current hour carries the hour numerals around the dial once per hour, acting as the minute hand.