Next month’s single marque thematic sale, The Art of F.P. Journe, will be live streamed around the world as one of the most notable auctions of the past two years.
It is being promoted by Christie’s in Geneva like a major film premiere or sporting event complete with spectacular pre- and post- match parties; play-by-play commentary, filmed interviews broadcast worldwide with superstars of the watch world; vintage champagne, celebrities, music, dance … the lot.
It is billed as an event the like of which has never been attempted before by the crusty auctioneers of London and Geneva.
Revolution publisher Wei Koh will play the role of Joan Rivers or Troy Aikman as the MC of the auction action. His team will be on the scene at the parties, where today’s legendary independent watchmakers will strut around like Hollywood or sporting legends in the company of super-fan collectors and reporters from the likes of WatchPro trying to elbow their way in to get a brief comment.
Rémi Guillemin, Christie’s watch department’s European head, says he wants to make auctions more exciting. “We have to make the sales more dynamic, more interesting, shorter,” he tells WatchPro.
“More interesting” may be an understatement for what Christie’s has planned for The Art of F.P. Journe auction. Plans shared exclusively with WatchPro suggest the May sale will be pure box office, although Christie’s wants many of the details to be a surprise.
The rarity of the watches has allowed Christie’s to reach out to its crème de la crème customers, and many of the most prolific watch collectors in the world already have their flights booked to be in Geneva for the sale.
The format of the auction, as Mr Guillemin suggests, will be much shorter and snappier than bloated 500 lot affairs that had people, literally, falling asleep in their seats.
There are currently 39 lots in The Art of F.P. Journe sale, which collectively tell a story of the influence Mr Journe has had on modern independent watchmaking, not just through the creativity, beauty and engineering of the timepieces, but also the way he generated sales in his early years through his subscription model, and then maintained exclusivity by making unique pieces for special customers and always ensuring rarity by producing timepieces of such complexity and fine finishing, that volumes have never exceeded 1,000 per year.
The single source of the watches, who has asked for his name not to be publicised, tells WatchPro the aim is to make this the sale of the century and bring independent watchmakers like François Journe and his contemporaries the recognition and status they so richly deserve.
The Art of F.P. Journe sale, which Christie’s is hosting in Geneva on May 12, has echoes of a legendary thematic sale back in 1989 when the Art of Patek Philippe auction was held by Antiquorum in Geneva as part of the brand’s 150th anniversary.
The success of that auction elevated Patek Philippe to the king of auction watches it remains to this day, and the F.P. Journe sale, if successful in what is a choppy market right now, could have a similar impact on the master watchmaker’s creations, and potentially raise appreciation for other artisan independents working today.
Once collectors discover a watchmaker like F.P. Journe, they often develop a lifelong passion for independents so demand spreads to other producers. This is already being seen, with auction prices rocketing for living artisan indies like Roger Smith, Philippe Dufour, the Gronefeld brothers and Kari Voutillainen.
Christie’s, through the creation, curation and publicity surrounding The Art of F.P. Journe auction, has the opportunity to elevate its status as an innovator and leading auctioneer for sales of independents’ watches for years to come.
Turning the auction into a global media event is only part of the work Christie’s is putting into promoting the sale. More important, several weeks out from the event, the team is working to pique the interest of the world’s top collectors and lure them to Geneva in May. Helpfully, the watches themselves, and the stories behind them, do much of the heavy lifting.
These are not just run-of-the-mill Journes (if there is such a thing), several of the lots are some of the rarest and desirable watches ever to emerge from the workshop of Mr Journe.
Take the signed F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain ‘Souscription’ model, No. 2 of 20 made in the late 1990s, for example, which is offered by Christie’s with a pre-sale estimate of CHF 1,800,000 – CHF 2,800,000. As Christie’s describes: “Of all the timepieces created by François-Paul Journe at the start of his extraordinary watchmaking career, the Souscription Tourbillon Souverain is probably the ultimate prize for the collector, so rare that it has an almost mythical status.
“The watch offers collectors of F.P. Journe and those who pursue the rarest statement timepieces an exceptional and almost unheard of opportunity to acquire a Souscription Tourbillon Souverain at auction.
“This second watch of the official Souscription series is not only a highly significant foundation piece in the early history of one of the most respected and desirable of all modern watchmakers, but it also showcases a major first for the contemporary mechanical wristwatch, the remontoir d’égalité.”
Once it is sold, it may never be seen again.
Or consider a platinum F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain with a jade dial. This is a watch that won the top Aiguille d’Or prize at the 2004 GPHG awards, and was almost never made with this turquoise stone dial. It goes to sale with an estimate of CHF 500,000 – CHF 1,000,000.
All F.P. Journe watches are rare, but the 39 lots in the Christie’s auction all fall in the ultra-rare range and more than a few could break the seven-figure mark.
This will create the sort of buzz that auctioneers badly need at a time when some of the froth has come off the top of the top of the watch category after a meteoric rise in the past few years and reignite interest from collectors who have been sitting on their hands and wallets for the past 12 months.
Christie’s, with a rumoured million-dollar marketing budget, is certainly pushing to boat out to ensure the success of The Art of F.P. Journe sale, with Rémi Guillemin, should it exceed expectations, potentially establishing himself as an innovator, risk-taker and new star of the highly competitive watch auction world.
Highlights of The Art of F.P. Journe sale
Descriptions and estimates by Christie’s
F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain
This platinum F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain with solid platinum bracelet, is a magnificent timepiece, elevated to the highest degree of rarity, due to its superb jade dial, of which only a few examples exist. Circa 2018.
(Est: CHF500,000-1,000,000)
Pré-Souscription platinum Chronomètre à Résonance
When launching his brand, F.P. Journe introduced a ‘subscription’ model, with 20 of his closest friends and clients committing to purchase timepieces made under his name with the resulting Souscription Tourbillon numbered 1 to 20.
Shortly after, the Chronomètre à Résonance was produced, and F.P. Journe reserved the initial 20 numbers for those clients who had previously subscribed, offering them the opportunity to acquire a Souscription Résonance with matching engraved numbers.
The auction will offer an early example of the ‘Pré-Souscription’ platinum Chronomètre à Résonance. Circa 2000.
(Est: CHF500,000-1,000,000)
Centigraphe Souverain
Another quintessentially F.P. Journe example is this Centigraphe Souverain platinum ergonomic chronograph wristwatch with 100th of a second, 20th seconds, 10-minute registers, a red chrome dial and platinum bracelet. Only available upon special request, this “Ferrari red dial” edition of the Centigraphe Souverain unites the worlds of high horology and motor sports. Circa 2010.
(Est: CHF400,000-600,000)
Octa Calendrier
This highly exclusive platinum Octa Calendrier is one of only 15 pieces made for the prestigious Singaporean retailer ‘Sincere Fine Watches’ with a black mother of pearl dial.
Rarely available at auction, the offering of this piece provides collectors with the rare opportunity to obtain an example of this automatic annual calendar. Circa 2006.
(Est: CHF150,000-250,000)
Chronomètre Souverain
Signed F.P. Journe, this exclusive and distinctive platinum limited edition wristwatch with green dial is one of only 99 examples of the Chronomètre Souverain produced in 2020 to celebrate the opening of F.P. Journe’s first Dubai boutique (on October 30th, 2019). Circa 2021.
(Est: CHF60,000-120,000)
Octa ‘LineSport’
Possibly one of the rarest and most attractive versions of F.P. Journe’s ultra-light titanium Octa ‘LineSport’ automatic wristwatches, this blue dial model was made in a highly exclusive and very limited edition of only 8 pieces.
To our knowledge, this is the first blue dial Octa LineSport to come to international auction to date.
A portion of the sale result of this watch will be donated to “Only Watch”, benefitting the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy . Circa 2019.
