F P Journe is hot. Its new watches are hotter
Even after 26 years of watchmaking, the technical genius with an artistic flair hasn’t lost his touch
Chronometre Furtif
F P JOURNE timepieces are so distinctive, fans claim they can be spotted a mile away.
The new Chronometre Furtif stands out even more.
The latest addition to the brand’s lineSport collection has the same round case and integrated bracelet of an everyday wristwatch, but it looks more at home on the wrist of Batman prowling Gotham’s streets in the dead of night.
The first time-only three-hand watch to join F P Journe’s sporty line, the 42 mm Chronometre Furtif is grey-black, like the comic hero’s outfit.
While it doesn’t wear a mask, its furtive nature is revealed in the minute tracks and numerals on the mirror-polished dial. Crafted from anthracite grey enamel and white gold, they can be seen only by the person wearing it – by tilting the dial at an angle.
The grey-black tone comes from tungsten carbide, the material used for the watch case and bracelet.
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The Chronometre Furtif first appeared in 2024 in tantalum, in the one-off Chronometre Furtif Bleu Only Watch made for charity. Like tantalum, tungsten carbide is an extremely hard material, high yield shock-resistant and practically indestructible.
While the Batmobile gets Batman around, the Chronometre Furtif is kept ticking by a new in-house, hand-wound mechanical movement in 18-karat rose gold. It works around the clock for 56 hours at a stretch when fully wound.
Visible through the case-back, the movement also displays a power reserve indicator and moonphase window.
Elegante 12 Rows of Diamond Watch
Because men find it hot, women also want it. We’re talking about an F P Journe watch.
By popular demand, the brand presents the Elegante: a watch that is “different and comfortable to wear, and that suited their (women’s) needs and desires”.
To come up with a watch with a difference, F P Journe has put the spotlight on the case, the most visible part of a watch. Resorting to a strategy of surprise, it departs from convention to make it in the shape of a pillow – “Flat Tortue” in the brand’s lingo – rather than a circle.
For comfort, F P Journe crafted the 40 mm model, including its bracelet, from ultra-light titanium or Titalyt, a harder titanium given a proprietary treatment. This makes the watch sit as softly and lightly as a pillow on a petite wrist.
Also fitting snugly is the new 12-link bracelet, completed with an interchangeable rubber part.
As for a woman’s needs and desires, what could be more suitable and desirable than diamonds? Brilliant-cut gems – 382 of them – adorn the Elegante’s bracelet.
The case is set with another 222 brilliant-cut diamonds, totting up to a grand total of almost five carats.
F P Journe didn’t stop there. The jewellery timepiece is offered in eight colours: white, midnight blue, burgundy, grey, yellow, black, orange and powder rose. Its dial comes in white for the titanium model, and black for the Titalyt model.
The jewellery refinement of the timepiece is complemented by watchmaking innovation, the fruit of eight years of research.
“The Elegante features the only electro-mechanical movement designed with a true vision of luxury,” F P Journe says.
A revolutionary electronic mechanical movement keeps the watch humming for up to 18 years, depending on if it is used daily or on permanent standby.
After staying still for 35 minutes, the Elegante switches to standby mode to save energy, though the microprocessor continues to measure time. So when the motion detector is activated, the watch automatically sets itself to the correct time.
Quantieme Perpetual
It’s one of the most complicated among horological creations. The perpetual calendar calls for watchmaking skill of the highest order and, for its user, potentially some getting used to.
Setting and correcting the day, date and month on the complication – at least in the early models – may take forever, as you fumble with a stylus or pusher to get things right.
There are too-many-to-remember steps to take, and one slip could send the watch to the repair shop for a costly fix.
The Quantieme Perpetual, which also flaunts an instantaneous feature, is designed to take the user out of this misery. F P Journe says it is the most idiot-proof perpetual calendar on the market.
The Quantieme Perpetual is no harder to operate than the conventional time-only watch.
Where time is set and adjusted with a winding crown in the latter, the same is done for the day and date on this complication. The months are corrected with a corrector lever located under the lug; no specific tool is needed for the adjustment over four years.
Not that any correction is needed, at least not in the lifetime of the Quantieme Perpetual’s owner.
Once set, the day, date and month are accurately displayed for as long as the watch is wound. Even the months with 28, 29, 30 and 31 days are automatically accounted for with the leap years.
The Quantieme Perpetual is also very easy to read. Time on the uncluttered dial, in red or white gold, can be gleaned at a glance with no distractions. The day and month peek out from two large apertures at 12 o’clock, while the date appears in two equally big windows at 6 o’clock.
The instantaneous jumping feature comes alive when the date, day or month changes. Energy accumulated in an ingenious system is swiftly released, reinforcing the instantaneous jump.
The timepiece runs on an automatic movement with, as the retrograde display on the dial indicates, 120 hours’ power reserve.
The new Quantieme Perpetual is the ninth creation of the Octa line. It comes in platinum or 18-karat red gold, at either 40 mm or 42 mm wide, and is worn on an alligator leather strap.
Octa Lune
This reworked version of the Octa Lune is as easy to read as a children’s book.
Like those big prints, the date on the watch is sizeable. Twice as large as in the previous model, it appears in the aperture at 11 o’clock on the dial, which in turn comes in red gold or white gold and silver.
The hour numbers, surfaced with a diamond tool, are embossed on an enlarged off-centre dial.
The retrograde power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock shows the in-house automatic-winding movement has a power reserve of 120 hours, or five days. At 8 o’clock, the moon passes through in phases.
The Octa Lune is available in a 40 mm or 42 mm case, in platinum or 18-karat red gold. It is paired with a leather strap, a platinum bracelet or a red gold bracelet.
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