As a celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the F.P. Journe boutique in Tokyo, the brand has unveiled a new manual-wound chronograph.
As part of celebrating F.P. Journe’s presence in Japan for the past twenty years, a special event was organized in the brand’s Tokyo boutique, where watch collectors and enthusiasts from around the globe were brought together. Of course, the highlight of the night was the unveiling of the limited edition Chronographe FB timepiece.
The F.P. Journe Tokyo boutique has a very special place in the brand’s history. It was an important milestone and can be considered the starting point of the brand’s worldwide boutique expansion. The Tokyo boutique is the brand’s first-ever boutique.
It’s said that Francois-Paul Journe was unconventional in his methods for distributing his timepieces. “At a time when watch brands favoured retailers for their distribution, François-Paul Journe chose not to follow convention. He was the first to open a subsidiary and a boutique under his own name in Aoyama, in central Tokyo. He took a bold step, relying above all on his instinct and his admiration for Japan, a country that cultivates both modernity and age-old traditions.”
The F.P. Journe Tokyo boutique first opened its doors in September 2003 inside ‘La Collezoine’, the work of Tadao Ando. Winner of the 1995 Pritzker Prize (an annual award to honour architects), Tadao Ando is an autodidact architect who is celebrated in his country as a national treasure. His minimalist style is characterised by geometric shapes in concrete and a subtle mastery of natural light.
After the construction of the first Tokyo boutique, F.P. Journe has established 12 boutiques worldwide, including in Hong Kong, Geneva, Paris, and New York. François-Paul Journe went the extra step of thanking the customers of the boutiques, by creating a special limited edition Anniversaire series of timepieces commemorating the Tokyo boutique. The first limited edition model was released in 2005 as the Chronomètre Souverain, then the Chronomètre à Résonance (2006), Tourbillon Souverain (2007), Octa Perpétuelle (2009), Centigraphe Souverain (2016) and released this year, the Chronographe FB (2024).
Earlier this year, F.P. Journe announced that they would put a stop to the production of limited edition timepieces after the release of the Chronographe FB. This makes this latest Tokyo 20th Anniversary edition even more special and quite possibly one of the most sought-after F.P. Journe models.
This last limited-edition timepiece carries the same design codes as previous versions of the Tokyo anniversary editions. It comes with a 40mm polished titanium case, 18k 6N Gold crown and pushers, ruthenium dial on Gold, sapphire counters, finished by a burgundy alligator leather strap with a 18k 6N Gold folding clasp.
The dial carries the same aesthetic characteristics as the Centigraphe Souverain Tokyo anniversary limited edition released in 2016. The timepiece has skeletonised subdials, which reveal the movement’s gears underneath. The hands and the 60-minute and 60-second increments of the subdials are done in red, which stands out beautifully against the white background. The silver dial also features a ruthenium-coated guilloché with the hour indices done in orange pad-printed Arabic numerals. The colour tone matches nicely with the 18k 6N Gold crown and pushers, giving a more balanced aesthetic appearance.
The movement used inside the Chronographe FP is quite special to the brand too, in that it’s the first ever manually wound flyback chronograph model from them. It’s also stated to possibly be the last, so after this limited-edition series has sold out, the movement won’t be used in future projects. This makes the value of the Chronographe FP rise even higher in my eyes. The movement in question is the Calibre 1518.2 in 18k Rose Gold. Being a manual wound, it operates at a decent frequency of 3Hz (21, 600 VpH) while offering 80 hours of power reserve.
Final Thoughts
The timepiece is limited to just 200 models. As mentioned previously, it carries the same aesthetic design codes as previous limited edition models dedicated F.P. Journe’s Tokyo boutique opening. While the colours used may not be to everyone’s liking, it does have a certain appeal. I do like how the sub-dials are done. The white background provides a nice contrast to the sub-dials colourful details. The date window at 6 o’clock has also been beautifully implemented, with the date wheel being colour-matched to the dial and not done in white to detract from the balanced look of the dial.
With the Chronographe FP being the brand’s final limited-edition model, there is certainly some grandeur surrounding this timepiece. Not only that, but it’s the only timepiece that F.P. Journe has produced to be a manual wound flyback chronograph movement, making the value proposition of this piece even more enticing, for anyone who can get their hands on it!
References: Chronographe FB
Specifications:
- Size: 40mm Thickness: 10.40mm
- Case Material: Polished Titanium with 18K 6N Gold crown and pushers
- Dial: Ruthenium-coated guilloché Silver, tachymeter scale, counters in sapphire.
- Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating
- Water Resistance: 30m (3bar)
- Movement: Calibre 1518.2 in 18K Rose Gold, mechanical with manual winding
- Power Reserve: ~ 80 hours without the chronograph running
- Beat Rate: 21,600 v/h, (3Hz)
- Bracelet/Strap: Burgundy alligator leather, 18K 6N Gold folding clasp
