Introducing a man as well known in the watch community as François-Paul Journe, of his eponymous brand F.P. Journe, seems rather ludicrous. In brief, Monsieur Journe is in some respects the torchbearer to the legacy of Abraham-Louis Breguet, widely deemed one of the finest watchmakers to grace the Earth. The complications and general approach of the two master-watchmakers shares a great likeness. We decided to drop into François-Paul’s atelier in Geneva, to talk childhood, the resonance complication and his split-seconds chronograph entry to OnlyWatch 2017.

It’s often written about that you were unruly as a student, to what degree is this accurate?

Yes, it’s true that I was a little undisciplined at school. Let’s just say that I wasn’t the best student, and I was more likely to be sitting at the back of the class by the radiator.

[At this point, an espresso arrives for Mr. Journe in an F.P. Journe branded vodka shot glass, about which he exclaims “we had these made a few years ago, I like to drink my coffee from them because it cools the coffee down in one go”]

What was your first experience of horology?

I think it would have been when I was around four years old, I had been given a pocket watch to examine, although I have no idea where it came from or how it made its way into my hands. But I remember the watch like it was yesterday.

What was it that impressed you so much about this watch?

I don’t know, maybe it was as simple as having something in my hands from a couple of hundred years ago that still operated. There was just something special about holding it, there’s something very powerful about a watch. To have a watch is very important for a child at the age of four years. [laughs]

So, what then prompted you to study as a watchmaker?

I didn’t decide to become a watchmaker, I was forced into it. And I mean, I was physically forced into the profession. I had no idea what wa