The significance of Christie’s watch auction on May 12, titled The Art of F.P. Journe, might be lost on people who are new to watch collecting. But such is the historic importance of the event to me that I wanted to take the time to put my thoughts together leading up to it. Historic it is, because it is the first thematic auction focused on the work of a single living watchmaker. François-Paul Journe is today at the very height of his creative powers, as evinced by the extraordinary FFC (“Francis Ford Coppola”), a mind-blowing wristwatch featuring an anatomically accurate mechanical hand that tells the time powered by a constant force mechanism. Journe’s canon of work is, without a doubt, the single greatest contribution to the story of watchmaking by any one individual in more than 200 years.
How does this auction beautifully illustrate the story of Journe’s journey as a watchmaker? I’ll put it like this. The world has been waiting for two centuries for another watchmaking giant to walk the earth, an individual that would continue the story of the legends of the 18th century, like Breguet, Berthoud, Janvier, Harrison and Lépine; a man that would reconnect the values of the golden age and its ceaseless pursuit of advancing timekeeping accuracy with the modern era. And through doing so, he would define an all-new horological language that could be considered the most significant independent voice of our time, making the once almost lost art of mechanical timekeeping more relevant than ever. That man is François-Paul Journe.
To be alive during Journe’s era can be likened to being given the opportunity to bear witness to the greatness of Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali in their prime, or to watch the incandescent performative ritual of Jackson Pollock engaged in action painting, or to listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan transform his 1963 Fender Stratocaster into the omnipotent voice of the cosmos. The Art of F.P. Journe by Christie’s proudly declares his place as the single greatest watchmaker of our time. Says Remi Guillemin, head of Christie’s watch department in Europe, “We were motivated and inspired to undertake this auction, the first of its kind for a living watchmaker, because we feel that Journe’s contribution to the story of watchmaking has a significance that is utterly unique. Furthermore, at Christie’s, we wish to help build the culture of watch appreciation and enrich the understanding of independent watchmaking. This auction is our first major initiative in this focus, but there will be more!”
UNRIVALED CONTRIBUTION TO HOROLOGY: AUCTION LOTS OF THE GREATEST SIGNIFICANCE
Journe’s palmary achievements are the stuff of legend: the first wristwatch tourbillon with remontoir d’egalité; the first wristwatch tourbillon with a dead seconds mechanism driven by a constant force device; the first wristwatch successfully implementing
