F.P. Journe

Jay (Eire)
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François Friday - INCOMING!

(I used this same text in a previous post but since not many of you either did not see it or decided not to play the guessing game I proposed I decided to recycle it here as it’s still relevant.  I hope you can excuse the recycling). 

Towards the end of last year I effected a material swap in my collection; one manual wind chronograph out another manual wind chronograph in. 

That is where the obvious similarities between these two watches end, and aesthetically they couldn’t be any more different. 

One is firmly seated in its place as a game changer for modern chronographs, a watch that made several manufacturers “wake up” and eventually push their own development of a “peer in house chronograph”. 

The other is often seen as a novelty, and not in the usual (complimentary) sense of the word as it’s used in horology.  A bit of a rogue piece, more bluster than substance I’ve heard certain collectors say. 

One is finished to a point that is beyond question for “mass production” (you know what I mean by this) and carries a movement with depth that has never disappointed any eye or camera lens.  

The other, eh, yes it’s finished.  But in terms of movement there is nothing else like it either; its material composition or the approach to the “complication”.  

At the time I had asked “So, what left and what came in?  Can you guess?” There were a handful of replies and one watch was identified by some (the Datograph).  The Datograph was the watch which left the collection. 

The incoming was not among those that people guessed, I thought my clues were helpful but apparently not.  

In any event as you now see the new watch is yet another Journe for me, but this time one which is more in line with my natural style.  A sports watch.  

It took me a long long time to see any attraction in this watch, and the Centigraphe line in general.  I’ve stated before that this collection “has a face (dial) that only a mother could love”.  Well, I guess after years of looking at it a mother can love an ugly child just as much!!

I did have some debate about the ALU version and the TI, as you can see I went with the TI in the end although it was a close call.  I will expand on that decision at a later point. 

I’ve been wearing the watch now for a few months and generally I’m very pleased and believe it was the right choice.  More thoughts on this to follow also.

For now I close out this François Friday with a few pictures.

Have a good weekend all.