Elite Traveler Winter 2021

INFLUENCE CRAFTMANSHIP

by Roberta Naas

Behind the scenes FP Journe

While every FP Journe watch is made according to the same exacting quality levels, no matter how complicated the functions, the Astronomic Souveraine watch is perhaps the most impressive achievement yet

Easily one of the most remarkable independent watchmakers of our era, François-Paul Journe has a passion for haute horology and is obsessed with perfection. While he began his education as a watchmaker in his early teens, he quickly rose to renowned status among larger watch brands that sought out his intimate knowledge and meticulous execution of watchmaking. Working for others was not enough for the highly driven Journe, though, and in 1994 he began a journey to develop his own timepieces made according to his own strict standards of excellence. In 1999, after five years of research, development and invention, he launched the eponymous FP Journe brand. Easily one of the largest (and one of the oldest) ‘small’ independents in the modern watch world, FP Journe hand- assembles and hand-finishes all its timepieces at its workshops in the heart of Geneva. There, master watchmakers — hand-picked and trained by Journe — work deftly and tirelessly to breathe life

Above Decorating and finishing the movement angles by hand with carbon bits Left Hand-polishing the bezel of the timepiece