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FRANCAIS
It is with an artist’s sensitivity that François-Paul Journe explores the measurement of time with a unique sense of creativity and innovation. As a demanding technician, he innovates by devising exclusive watch mechanisms. From his earliest years, watchmaking has been an integral part of his life.
It was in his native city of Marseille that he began training at the watchmaker’s school at the age of fourteen. Little by little, he discovered the scope and wealth of horological science, which would prove capable of satisfying both his curiosity and his creative vitality. However, the full revelation of his vocation came in Paris where he completed his studies before training with his uncle. The workshop of this eminent antique watch and clock restorer was located at the heart of the craftsmen’s district in Saint-Germain-des Prés and a first-rate clientele entrusted him with the finest collections. It was here that François-Paul Journe thrilled to the discovery of the most striking achievements in the history of watchmaking and retraced the intellectual and philosophical paths taken by those who had conceived and crafted them: scientists, inventors or master-watchmakers. He experienced the privilege of entering the mechanical heart of some exceptional creations that were to set his own heart beating for years to come! The youthful watchmaker explored what he still views as “the golden age of watchmaking”: the 18th century. Abraham-Louis Breguet, Antide Janvier and some other talented masters of time triggered his first deep-felt horological emotions. Fascinated by what these men were able to accomplish with the means at their disposal, he began the construction of his first tourbillon pocket-watch at the age of twenty. His need for independence led him to set up his craftsman’s workshop on rue de Verneuil, where he received visits from a select circle of informed collectors who commissioned him with making some one-of-a-kind creations. He will know how to pay homage to the watchmaking history in pursuing the research, creating timekeepers from which authenticity and technical innovations are respecting the ethics of these great masters. The many watch awards from around the world he received encouraged him in his single handed task of research and development. Quite soon the great names in the world of luxury and watchmaking called upon his talents to develop and create innovative movements. He designed and crafted mysterious clocks, the “sympathique” clock, and subtle mechanisms for unique creations. Increasing demand emanating from Switzerland led him to develop a Manufacture dedicated to building movements for various brands. He thereby placed his historical and technical knowledge as a watchmaking design-engineer in the service of industry. Nonetheless, his secret desire remained to be able to offer contemporary timekeepers, based on a technical interpretation that could rightly claim to be both authentic and innovative, to a broader public. Each of the unique pieces François-Paul Journe was creating was the result of countless hours of research, that he saw disappearing when the commissioner took up his watch. He then began dreaming about a collection of watches offering the same qualities – comfort, innovations and performances – but for a wider public!
In 1994, François-Paul Journe started designing his vision of contemporary watchmaking and presented in 1999, a collection of wristwatches signed F.P.Journe with the Latin wording – Invenit et Fecit –, meaning “invented and made”. It thereby certifies that each of the watches carrying his name results from an entirely original conception and rigorous craftsmanship. His creative, intellectual and inventive thought process remains identical that when he was a craftsman, only the shaping changes considerably, with more contributors. His integrity in the creation of innovative timepieces imposes him naturally as the link between the golden age of horological science and contemporary watchmaking. His creations have quickly imposed with the status of World Premiere, thanks to their unique conception, their originality and their technical performance. François-Paul Journe perpetuates the long history of watchmaking and pays tribute to the Age of Enlightenment, by pursuing and extending the most decisive research in the unique science and craft represented by the measurement of time.
