Throughout my post, I used the word "we" to refer only to me and my collector/friend. I was not using "we" to refer to the general collector community, especially when I wrote, "We know that certain FPJ movements are much less reliable than others." I hope this clarification is helpful, and I certainly did not intend to upset you or speak for you or anyone else when I used the word "we"!
Here is my own story with FPJ and reliability -- just data from one owner (me).
I fell in love with the brand -- the aesthetic -- as soon as I first saw FPJ's watches. That was about 15 years ago. I very much wanted to take the plunge, but I avoided doing so because I kept hearing about reliability and servicing issues from more experienced collectors whom I knew and trusted (and whom I had asked directly, of course, because I don't subscribe to unsubstantiated rumors -- hence the purpose of my original post in this thread).
Finally, in 2015, I could no longer resist the temptation. I decided that life is too short and that I really needed to experience owning and wearing an FPJ timepiece despite what I had heard about reliability issues. So, in a relatively short period of time, I acquired 3 pre-owned FPJ watches: An Octa Calendrier, an Octa Perpetuelle, and a Tourbillon Souverain.
- The Octa Calendrier had been completely overhauled by FPJ immediately before I bought it. In my first 2 years of ownership, I sent it back I think seven (7) times to try to fix the same problem: The month would frequently skip (JAN to MAR, JUN to AUG, etc.), and occasionally the retrograde date would hang up. The dealer who was working with me phrased it really well after I commented that the watch had spent more time with FPJ's servicing department than with me: "Think of it like owning a vacation home: You get to REALLY enjoy it for a few months each year."
- The Octa Perpetuelle stopped running within a few weeks after I bought it (which wasn't upsetting because perhaps it was never serviced), so that went back to FPJ for a complete overhaul too. But after I got that watch back from being completely overhauled, it too had to go back yet again because the month indicator had the opposite problem of my Calendrier: It would get stuck between two months and not fully change.
- The Tourbillon Souverain has been problem-free.
Thankfully, literally everyone I met who works at FPJ was truly wonderful when problems arose. All FPJ staff here in the US were incredibly kind, helpful, and understanding without fail. As a result, when one of the calendar pieces presented a problem, I felt taken care of and respected. Otherwise, if I had been treated poorly or even indifferently after so many problems, I would have sold these watches.
I am now at the point where I accept unreliability of certain FPJ watches as an (unfortunate) aspect of ownership. At this point, I don't expect the Calendrier or the Perpetuelle to function properly for extended periods of time, and I am pleasantly surprised when they do. I don't want to part with them because they are too beautiful, as art. I love them. And I know I am not alone, because one local fellow collector (who is probably reading this now) offered to buy the Calendrier if I ever wanted to sell it, even though he knows about the problematic history and has had his own issues with a different (complicated) FPJ movement. Owning a few problematic FPJ watches has greatly increased my horological frustration tolerance -- something for which I am actually profoundly grateful!
Lastly, on a related note, I find this funny. I was going to get an Elegante a few years ago. I love the look of the Elegante, and I thought to myself, "Not only is this beautiful, but it's QUARTZ, so it couldn't possibly have any reliability issues like my calendar watches did." Just to double-check, I wrote to someone who had bought two Elegantes, to ask about his ownership experiences for my own reassurance and peace of mind. He said he ended up parting with both of them because neither of them reset to the correct time when awakened from their slumber. I couldn't believe it! Rats, foiled again! When I asked an FPJ employee about this, they acknowledged some issues with the early Elegante pieces and said the problems had been rectified to the best of their knowledge. [This is another thing I really love about the FPJ brand: In my experience, their employees are honest about such things.] So if and when I'm ready to get an Elegante, I'll probably post the very same question on a forum like this: "If anyone has owned an Elegante in the last few years, can you please tell me about your experiences with its reliability?" But I promise not to use the word "we" anywhere in that future post!
Okay, one more thing: Velociphile, PLEASE don't cancel your account. Remember, this is just an internet forum for hobbyists to discuss watches. It's nothing more than that -- nothing to get emotional about. And on a purely selfish note, I don't want to be known as "the guy who started the thread that caused the other guy to cancel his account after 16 years." Please don't do that to me -- I piss off enough people in "real life" and don't want to add fellow Purists posters to that list!