The Last Journe LE: Introducing The F.P. Journe Chronographe FB ‘Tokyo Boutique’
The new Chronographe FB Tokyo Boutique is both an ending and a celebration.
F.P. Journe‘s Tokyo boutique was, when it opened twenty years ago, the first Journe boutique in the world, and a logical extension of Journe’s watchmaking philosophy, which was as much as possible, to do things his own way. It’s no surprise in retrospect (in fact I don’t think it would have been a surprise even then) that Journe would want to have as much control as possible over not only his watches, but also the environment in which they are seen by clients and potential clients, and the Tokyo boutique has since it opened, been the inspiration for a whole series of limited editions across different models and complications, released between 2005 and 2016.
Journe has just announced the latest “limited series” Tokyo Boutique watch – the F.P. Journe Chronographe FB – and, in a startling additional piece of news, the brand has also announced that this will be its last limited series, in one laconic sentence: “The Chronographe FB, produced at 200 pieces, will be the brand’s last Limited Series.”
The watch itself shares a lot of the aesthetic cues of the Linesport Rattrapante, including the open subdials, big date display at 6:00, and the presence of a tachymeter scale; in the Linesport model, the tachymeter’s on the bezel while in the Chronographe FB, it’s on the dial, which gives the whole watch a somewhat more formal feel. The Chronographe FB at 40mm x 10.40mm is also smaller than the 44mm Linesport, with gold pushers and a gold crown picking up the color of the date and dial numerals, and the hour and minute hands. The gold accents on the dial side also echo the aesthetics of the movement, with Journe’s signature 18k gold movement and its steel components. The case is in titanium, which is the one concession to more typical sports watch design in the Chronographe FB.
One major difference between the Linesport Rattrapante and the new Chronographe FB is in the movement. The caliber 1518 in the Linesport is a rattrapante chronograph caliber which was originally introduced by Journe for Only Watch 2017, and which was later released as a regular production caliber the next year.
In the caliber 1518, the two column wheels are clearly visible, with the second column wheel for the split seconds function on the lower left and with the split seconds pincers and the split hand wheel clearly visible. Also visible at the end of a lever resting on the column wheel for the primary chronograph function, is the tilting pinion clutch which Journe prefers over a more traditional, but also more space-consuming, lateral clutch system.
The Chronographe FB uses a variation on the 1518. The new caliber 1518.2 is hand-wound – Journe has made a flyback chronograph before, in the Octa line but that is of course self-winding; the 1518.2 is hand wound.
The similarity in top plate architecture is clear, with the elegantly arranged cocks for the balance, escape wheel, and fourth wheel (which drives the tilting pinion, also sometimes called an “oscillating pinion”) all in the same position as in the cal. 1518. Obviously, some components have been repositioned; the second column wheel and elaborate rattrapante system are absent, and the center chronograph wheel now sits under its own cock, on which is mounted the jumper spring for the minute counter.
It’s sometimes said that F.P. Journe is not especially preoccupied with movement finishing, which is only partially true. There’s certainly not a whole lot in his movements in the way of obvious attempts to appeal purely to aesthetics, certainly not to the degree that some brands and especially some other independent watchmakers do (Philippe Dufour is the ultimate poster child for the pursuit of fine finishing – incredibly fine finishing – as an end in itself, if you can call one of watchmaking’s acknowledged modern luminaries a poster “child”). It would be a mistake however to think that the aesthetics of movement design, and yes, fine finishing as well, are things that Journe ignores entirely. The quality of steelwork in all of Journe’s watches is of noticeably high quality, will all steel components straight or circular grained and edges beveled and polished. (It is also worth noting that there is no difference qualitatively between the finish on the top plate/movement side and the dial side, which is not always the case even in some very expensive watches).
The organization of components in the 1518.2 is downright lyrical – the use of a tilting pinion allows Journe to explore a notably different aesthetic than you would find in a traditional high grade lateral clutch chronograph, with a genuinely expressive interplay between the shapes of the bridges and steel components (the various chronograph springs are almost balletically graceful).
The watch is extremely beautiful – a kind of summary of classic Journe watchmaking and a fitting exit piece from the limited series business. That part of the announcement, however, was pretty staggering. The limited editions and limited series watches from F.P. Journe are an intrinsic part of the brand’s history as even novice Journe collectors are aware and departing from that world with such finality is – well, I’d say unbelievable except of course, we have to believe it. Certainly, there is nothing in the announcement to indicate that limited production is a thing of the past – a new model, produced in small numbers over a one or two year period may not be a limited edition watch de jure, but is certainly one de facto and the absence of official limited series watches from the catalog doesn’t do anything to diminish the rarity and exclusivity of current production and future production models (and it goes without saying that it does nothing to diminish the rarity and exclusivity of previous limited series watches as well). It’s also obviously true that there’s nothing preventing the brand from producing unique pieces, either on its own initiative or on request from clients (I would be very surprised if we’ve seen the last of Journe unique pieces for Only Watch, for instance).
Still, it’s the end of an era. What exactly motivated Journe to discontinue limited series watches is unclear, but what is clear is that this anniversary piece is already a major part of the over two decades long story of F.P. Journe.
The F.P. Journe Chronographe FB: case, titanium, 18k rose gold crown and pushers, 40mm x 10.40mm. Dial, ruthenium coated silver, guilloché pattern with tachymeter scale and sapphire counters/subdials. Hands, rose gold gilt, red lacquer, ivory steel. Movement, Journe caliber 1518.2, rose gold mainplate and birdges, 34.20mm x 5.90mm, freesprung adjustable mass balance with Geneva style stud, running at 21,600 vph with center flyback seconds, 60 second counter at 9:00 and 60 minute counter at 3:00. Flyback chronograph with approximately 80 hour power reserve (with chronograph switched off). Limited series and according to Journe its very last limited series watch; produced for the anniversary of the Tokyo Boutique; 200 piece series; price, CHF 90,000. Find out more at FPJourne.com.