F. P. Journe
As a talented young watchmaker, F. P. Journe restored clocks and pocket watches from Janvier and Breguet, completed commissions from Asprey and Cartier, all while working on his own projects. One day, his friend Camille Berthet suggested a subscription model. The Souscription Tourbillon was born, with twenty close clients and friends of the watchmaker committing a deposit that allowed the F.P. Journe manufacture to flourish.
F. P. Journe
As a talented young watchmaker, F. P. Journe restored clocks and pocket watches from Janvier and Breguet, completed commissions from Asprey and Cartier, all while working on his own projects. One day, his friend Camille Berthet suggested a subscription model. The Souscription Tourbillon was born, with twenty close clients and friends of the watchmaker committing a deposit that allowed the F.P. Journe manufacture to flourish.
Independent Watchmakers Reinventing the Future
Discussing the future in relation to mechanical watchmaking is difficult and rather paradoxical. Fundamentally, watches have not changed very much since the days of Breguet and, arguably, every watchmaker creates their pieces with longevity in mind.
The Birth of Ultra-Thin, Automatic Perpetual Calendars
The concept of an ultra-thin, automatic perpetual calendar seems like an obvious one in classic watchmaking – pairing one of the most prestigious complications with a convenient winding system and a slim, discrete profile. However, it would take the complete disruption of the industry, with the advent of the Quartz Crisis, for it to appear. Once the first one was released, it spawned an entire category, which feels distinctly its own.