F.P. Journe

I had the opportunity to preview the Phillips auction on Thursday and then was present in person at the auction when the Journe hammered at 11.6 million, breaking the previous record. It was fun to watch. Overall very strong results.















This message has been edited by ChristianDK on 2026-06-14 13:42:00

but for 11MM? Ridiculous.

I stopped bidding at 10.8 million...lol

Thanks for sharing these photos.

I was expecting between 8-10 based on previous results and this one being unique in the configuration...only other one like this being owned by F. P. Himself. So this is the only one you can actually buy.

Is it the mix of case materials??
Thanks

Which means it predates the company “F.P. Journe”. When F.P. Had the vision of starting his own watch company he needed funds. To do so he followed the subscription model first used by his hero Abraham L Breguet. A subscription watch meant the client would make a significant payment up front (I forget the exact percentage) Today this is the norm with independents but that wasn’t the case in the late 1990ties. Many of these early clients would be clients he had done restoration work for and friends. He found 20 clients for his Tourbillon and 20 clients for his Chronometre a Resonance. The Souscription pieces have the serial numbers from 1-20. What is extra special about this watch, besides being a “Souscription” is that it is one of only two in existence that mix the case materials between Pt and gold. The other belongs to Francois Paul  and I’m quite sure will end up in the museum later this year. So this is the only one in the market. 

Clearly a historically significant piece.

This was the only one you could purchase

Here it is in my hand.

That's amazing!!

But I think these early ones are often a bit blurry on the contour lines. In the early, early stages both dials and cases would be manufactured by different suppliers and consistency and quality would vary significantly.

Stunning watch regardless

But either way these prices are just getting stupid. Whatever goes up must come down. Don’t be holding the hot potato at the end if you’re buying at these prices. If you owned them pre Watchbox hype you’ll always be fine.

In fact, I feel like this watch, if it ever comes up for sale again, will probably hammer for significantly more money in the coming years.  Watches are becoming viewed as objects of art, and an early watch made by one of the world's greatest horological artists should command an enormous sum.  I have zero skin in this Journe game, and I can see that very clearly. 

And if people think these numbers are crazy they should try following the art market. Makes these watches a value bargain.

I’m so happy for FPJ and all the collectors. Over 15M all in plus taxes.

Was at the Geneva one a few weeks ago and also incredibly and crazy prices