F.P. Journe

I think this one is worth a read. Please enjoy 😉 Link to interview: www.perpetualpassion.com ...  

Thanks for sharing, Christian.

He also makes a point about luxury and industry which actually has come up on this forum today and another forum a few days back. The crux of that discussion is people don’t understand what luxury actually is, how much of Swiss watchmaking is less luxury ... 

They can make certain movements that are of high durability/quality by spending serious cash $$$ (that close to all others cannot do, cost prohibitive or otherwise) and the fact that they produce over a million watches a year and can sell those pieces, he... 

I do think his idea of luxury though is pretty narrow and his lack of appreciation for simplicity and finishing puts him at the other end of the spectrum from dufour or smith. While I agree finishing isn't watchmaking and I can see his point as an invento... 

You have drilled down to what is the very soul of aspirational creativity or the nexus of art and craft. There must be purpose but it’s the artful expression of purpose that inhabits that mercurial union. When endeavoring to improve on such a universal ag... 

He respects those two you mentioned. The point he makes is that most in the new generation of independents are following that same recipe without contributing with anything other than nice craft. And he is dead right. It’s uninspired and at brink of being... 

Is the GF Handmade 1 uninspired because it delivers nothing but hand craft? The RR CC is one of the most extravagantly craft simple 3 handers made today, certainly RR must see value in it? I'm not saying craft is everything, just that it's something, and ... 

His exact words are : ” What leaves me perplexed in the new generations is that almost all of them focus on creating three-hand watches, with or without tourbillons, finished with impeccable polishes, but then? What is the added value? It is a technical l... 

There can be art type luxury (finishing) and complication type luxury (multiple complications), then having both art and complication luxury in one watch should make that watch way more appealing. Some simply made drawings (art) can garner high valuations... 

Rolex is totally unique form the rest of the big manufacturers in the industry. The absolute benchmark for quality. I believe F.P. Sees it that way as well and I suspect that is a big reason why he privately is a Rolex collector among the different catego... 

"What leaves me perplexed in the new generations is that almost all of them focus on creating three-hand watches, with or without tourbillons, finished with impeccable polishes, but then? What is the added value? It is a technical level of three out of te... 

I think that this is the latest years' trend, great finishing and nothing more. The only watchmaker who's done something really be is Stephen McDonnell with his perpetual and "chrono", while Zenith and Frederique Constant have introduced oscillators.

It’s why we have people counting inward angles and oohing over wide beveling. It EASY to see and appreciate. But it is merely craft and a default way to establish your self as an independent to make some dollars. I do think though, that when you look at s... 

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First thing up front, I'm the biggest fan of Francois-Paul. I admire his philosophy on watches and I have dined with him (sometimes with Masa) in a group setting a handful of times over the past few years. I own his watches which I have posted a few times... 

with a production just below 1000 per annum it is a manufacture and not possible to hand finish watches to the same degree as a Phillipe Dufour or a Rexhep Rexhepi. The comparison simply doesnt make sense. That kind of finish is for the very minor product... 

Freedom of thought and expression coupled with discipline and pursuit of perfection aren’t always present in the same person. Yet FPJ achieves this in his own way. His style is unique and special. Different yet familiar. Pure genius. I love his watches (a... 

It’s not often that I see interviews with him any more but he always makes thoughtful and sometimes provocative comments. I also learned something from it.

The brand identity being embedded in product the way he described is the same thing I like tn rant about when we acquire a consumer brand. He’s 100% correctly that people should be able to tell it’s yours without a logo.