Høstdepresjon
- Trådstarter Edzilla
- Opprettet
Det er jo nesten kardinalsynd, og allikevel står det øl igjen her og..
Det er jo nesten kardinalsynd, og allikevel står det øl igjen her og..
Fristet enormt med ett par glass vin i går. Men klarte å komme meg igjennom kvelden på bare Farris.
Godt det bare er 30 dager til vi er på´n igjen i London.
Du som reiser mye @Edzilla opplever du mye komplimenter på bleu'en? Jeg blir jo starstrucked når jeg ser en patek, så tenker sannsynligheten for å se en FP klokke er noe mindre! Jeg hadde vertfall sittet å glodd! Artig når folk tar kontakt pga uret på hånden!
Artig at du spør @Lynch For jo; Det hender folk spør om å få se nærmere på den lille blå F.P. Journ´n. Men de som har spurt til nå er folk som enten jobber med klokker, eksempelvis ansatte hos Bjerke, IWC Boutiquen i London, Marcus, eller folk som er genuint interessert i klokker. Men også min tante var velig interessert i min klokke til hun fikk høre prisen. Ellers så har klokken dårlig draget på damene, eller gutta på pub´en.... Derimot så er det en helt annen historie med Rolex, eller hva @UJU ?
Redigert:
Hehe, som forventet! Dette med damer og deres meninger om ur har jeg gitt opp. Svært skjeldent dama synst noe av det jeg liker ser bra ut, hater hulken min
Hehe, som forventet! Dette med damer og deres meninger om ur har jeg gitt opp. Svært skjeldent dama synst noe av det jeg liker ser bra ut, hater hulken min
Synes det er helt ok at de som vet, vet. Resten bryr jeg meg ikke om.
Er ganske artig at de som jobber eks. hos en Rolex og Patek AD (uten å nevne navn) er mer opptatt av min klokke, enn deres egne...
Hehe, artig å høre! Er vel ikke hverdagskost for noen i grunn å se slike vakre ur! Er 90 % på flyplasser og på restauranter i utlandet jeg ser fine ur, ellers går det mye i en og annen rolex i Bergen
Fin tråd dette, men den må da være i springmarsj retning Snikksnakk-subforumet?
Takk, takk @DJM
Kveldens middag ble økologisk kyllingbryst med couscous og finhakket flower sprout.
Flower sprout er en velsmakende og allsidig kål som er lett å tilberede.
Kålen er vakker å se på, som en liten blomst med grønnlilla sjatteringer. Derav navnet flower sprout. Kålen er på størrelse med en rosenkål, og er på grunn av dette rask å tilberede. Flower sprout er en krysning av både rosenkål og grønnkål, og ligner på begge to både i smak og egenskaper.
Smaken er mild, søt og litt nøtteaktig.
Kveldsmat i dag ble en: Phở vietnamesisk nudelsuppe med kylling og kraft av storfe.
Oh´Lord! Nå erre fræddan!!
Nå skal man ut å gå inn skoa!
Nå skal man ut å gå inn skoa!
Da ble det C-Tan? Utrolig karakteristisk farge. Blir helt rått mot helt mørkeblå jeans og navy penbukse!!
Woodstock ble for smal for mine føtter (fittings 5). Kendal var helt perfek (fittings 6). Men jeg måtte opp en halv størrelse @Loevhagen
Elsker fargen på Kendal @Vegard
Dessverre er det ikke lett å ta bilder som rettferdiggjør c-tan.
Deler dette intervjuet av vår "norgesvenn" Mr. Francois-Paul Journe
ThePuristS Interview Francois-Paul Journe
by Jaw
© September 2003
(Mr. Francois-Paul Journe)
click to enlarge
Introduction
Francois-Paul Journe is the runaway success who has impressed the true blue purists. Since his first public presentation of his Tourbillon Souveraine in Basel 1999, he has been the fastest rising star in this short 4 years.
I had the good fortune to meet him for a lunch interview in April this year, and we spoke much longer than either one of us expected to.
While I know Journe as a creative and skillful watchmaker, I am floored by his extreme boldness, his transparent honesty, his strong determination and his burning passions for creating watches he is proud of.
Based on his commercial success and critical acclaim, he obviously has more commercial sense than I give him credit for. Despite being a good businessman, he strikes me as someone who just wants to make the best watch he can.
An excerpt of this interview was first published in the 2003 Business Times Annual Watch Supplement. Here is a more complete version exclusive to ThePuristS (Words in brackets are mine).
(GAIA award winner and his first Pocket watch Tourbillon)
The Interview
TP: How did you get started in watchmaking?
FPJ: I was a difficult student in school and my family decided to put me in a watch-making one. I loved watchmaking the minute I arrived at the school. I realized watchmaking is something I can actually feel and do. It is a learning process that is concrete. Not just concept and theory, but something real. I still like it very much today.
TP: Tell us a little more?
FPJ: Not just a little, but the whole story. After 2 years in the Marseilles horological school, I was expelled because I did not follow the rules like I was supposed to.
TP: Really, why?
FPJ: Nothing spectacular. I can't resist giving my opinion. I am too outspoken for my own good and they clearly did not like my attitude. I was not appreciated nor liked by them. In the expulsion letter, I was advised to find another job because they claimed that watchmaking would not be a suitable career for me.
TP: Wow! That was like saying you would never be a good watchmaker. How ironical and wrong it was!
FPJ: That is my mother standing over there (pointing to a friendly lady just about 3m away), and she can testify that everything I said is true.
(F.P. Journe and his mother)
TP: What did you do then?
FPJ: My uncle is a watchmaker and a watch restorer. He is a lot like me and was not comfortable with school. So I joined my uncle as an apprentice in Paris and attended the horological school there. 2 years in school and working with my uncle was very useful. It was in Paris that I learnt most of my horological cultures and skills. I am very lucky to have seen most of the, incredible, fantastic, beautiful vintage pieces being restored by my uncle. And I realized that it was the best place I can learn about the history and skills of watchmaking.
(The first Pocket watch he made in Paris)
TP: Many of the great pieces from famous brands were made by you?
FPJ: In the beginning, I only restored special pieces for a group of collectors. Some of my friends felt that I put in a lot of effort and energy in my work; we decided to form a company as a sort of a contractor and troubleshooter for the big watch houses. The first thing I did was the sympathique clock for John Asprey House in London. Subsequently mysterious pendulum and the mysterious clock and other complications like perpetual calendar etc. for various brands.
(He realizes he has no bread on the table and asks for it with a hearty laugh) I am very French, I cannot live without bread.
I also did a monopusher chronograph for a top brand, through this little company we created in St. Croix. I worked there for a total of 5 years only.
(Symphatique clock made for John Asprey)
TP: You were talking about Leroy? You partly owned the company, right?
FPJ: The company was setup in 1992.
TP: So it was a good start at St Croix for you then?
FPJ: In a way. I had a very good team and we had interesting projects and ideas. The products I developed there were good. I just had a bad partner, but I think it was, overall, a good learning process and not such a bad experience. It was in St. Croix that I learnt the industrial production process.
After I quit the St Croix company, I continued to develop creative mechanism like Grande Sonnerie and a new monopusher Chrono for Ulysse Nardin.
(The piece unique Sonnerie Souveraine, similar to the one he made for Piaget)
TP: Wasn't the Ulysse Nardin monopusher chrono done by Jaquet?
FPJ: It was from me. We are good friends and I gave Jaquet the right to the product. I was too busy to follow up on that project, so I just gave it away. Cartier Pasha big date, for example, is still under my patent.
TP: Why did you choose the most difficult way, starting a business by yourself?
FPJ: Big group or companies never considered me as a part of their strategy. When I created mechanisms for them, I had little control over the production and the implementation of my creation. I felt very often that my inventions were not correctly promoted.
Then I got tired of this. Since I already made my own watches when I was younger, it was natural that I wanted to build my own brand. On hind-sight, I treated that troubleshooting job only as a temporary job.
TP: What made you think you could do it by yourself then?
FPJ: As usual, I don't think, I just do it.
In 1994, I was wearing my self-made tourbillon, and I had a lot of positive reactions from the public about the design and the technical implementation of the watch. This gave me sufficient confidence to start my own brand. The idea started in 1994 and it took 5 years. By 1999 I had presented my products at the AHCI booth, and the reactions from the visitors were very positive. In Basel-2000, I had my own booth for the first time, and even more visitors expressed their interest to buy my Tourbillon. I was further encouraged.
TP: Any outside investors in the beginning?
FPJ: Production parts, work with outside designers and sourcing outside concept will cost big money. And this is not what I wanted. Everything is done by myself and done here; I was actually ready to build the watches when I decided. It was only a question of money for the materials, for the case, for the parts. Not for the production process.
The way I started, it wasn't easy to find the finance. One of my friends suggested that I find a group of collectors to buy my watches. At that time, I was able to find 20 people who were willing to put down deposits to order my tourbillons. It was this project that provided sufficient seed money for me to start my own brand.
TP: That was the first watch you made?
FPJ: My first wristwatch under the brand F.P. Journe Invenit et Fecit is the Remontoir tourbillon. The Grande Sonnerie was an additional unique piece I made under this brand name.
(The Tourbillon Souveraine, a watch to die for)
TP: I heard the Graham Minute repeater you made for British Masters once, but the chimes are less than perfect, in my personal opinion.
FPJ: I did not recommend it to be done in the way it was implemented, but British Masters insisted. Firstly, the Repeater mechanism should not be done from the back and secondly, In a Sonnerie watch, be it a Grande Sonnerie or a Minute Repeater. The key element other than the actual mechanism is the watch case.
The weight, size and the material of the case is of paramount importance. In the Graham piece, the case is too big and too heavy. You simply cannot make a good-sounding violin from a piece of stone.
TP: Why Tourbillon with Remontoir for the first watch. Isn't it too complicated as a launch piece?
FPJ: When I believe in something, I just do it. The Tourbillon is very representative of my approach and my contemporary thinking. I think it is the right model to set the correct direction I want to go.
TP: What is the most difficult part of making your first Constant Force Tourbillon wristwatch?
FPJ: That it actually works!
TP: What was the biggest challenge?
FPJ: The challenge was no one would be interested in my watch during the 80's. I saw its potential only in the 90s. Technically, it was wonderful to work with this watch.
(The Chronometre a Resonance, FPJ made it work in wristwatch size)
TP: Your Resonance, what made you think you could actually do it then?
FPJ: I am crazy. No, I am joking. I wanted to do it, and in wristwatch size. And I just set my mind to do it. This is my style.
TP: The theory of resonance is yet to be fully understood?
FPJ: I believe it is a real phenomenon and it works in practice as proven by my watch now, but initially I wasn't sure if it would work in wristwatch size.
TP: So what made you do it?
FPJ: My philosophy is that I will do it and make it work. I know that if I am determined, it is going to work.
Sometimes I worked continuously for a few days. When things just didn't go right, I stopped.
TP: Was there any moment when you wanted to give up?
FPJ: Sometimes, for a while, but I always came back to my work. It is like climbing a mountain. I need to rest a little on the way up and reorganize my thoughts before resuming the climb. I may be discouraged at times but never defeated.
(Octa Calendrier, A most unusual Annual Calendar)
TP: The Octa range of watches has a clear identity, consistency and a bold character, like something coming from a good business strategist rather than an artist like you.
FPJ: The idea originally came from economic consideration. I am a small player. The cost to pay for cases, for example, is very expensive. If I can use the same type of case for different models, it will save me a lot of money. Of course, it was also my intention to create a strong image from the beginning. I don't have a lot of money to advertise like the big companies, so a characteristic Journe aesthetic is essential.
TP: We are seeing some other watches from very respectable brands looking more and more like Journe watches now.
FPJ: I am happy. As long as I am not copying others, it will only make me stronger. Today, the average collector knows about this. This is why I changed the design in our new lady divine, diamond setting. I am trying to see if others will imitate.
(The 2003 Divine, probably the first Journe watch designed for ladies)
TP: Will the change confuse the Journe fans?
FPJ: No, not at all. Even though it is very different, I think the image of a Journe watch is still very consistent.
TP: I agree. Now that you are recognized and established, do you find your work easier or harder?
FPJ: Easier, because I have a great team. They are serious and skilled. In the beginning, I had to do everything myself, including accounting and other chores.
TP: Tell me about your team.
FPJ: We are a small team of people and hence there is no room for inefficiency and each has to be professional in their own task. I am glad that our team members are professional and efficient:
(The F.P. Journe office factory)
TP: Now that you are successful, can you still meet the continuous annual expectation of new innovations?
FPJ: I already have so many new product ideas in my mind and the only problem is my production capacity.
TP: Obviously you design your own movements, but you do need lots of supplies. Is it getting harder to get those parts?
FPJ: The difficultiy is when creating a new model, you have to work until it works and ensure that it works well.
TP: No parts supply problem?
FPJ: I had the problem but much less now. We always pay in time and are reliable.
TP: Why the New Stop Seconds Tourbillon to be launched later?
FPJ: First of all, I want to add on exclusive value to the existing tourbillon Souveraine, but this new one will also be discontinued eventually so it will add value to the new one.
(The Stop Second Tourbillon to be launched later this year or next year, amazing stop second and possibly an 18k solid gold movement, this photo is the only one available publicly, according to F.P. Journe)
TP: Will this strategy continue indefinitely?
FPJ: Yes, I will do the same to increase the collectability of my watches.
TP: At this point of time, what are you most proud of and what do you regret the most?
FPJ: No regrets. My past experience has not been very good, what with a bad ex-partner and it makes me treasure my current great team even more. My team is my pride.
TP: Regarding your initial less than happy experience with your ex-partner in St Croix, are you becoming more skeptical now?
FPJ: We never know. I may repeat my mistake in the future, but I am more careful now. It does not, however mean it won't happen again.
TP: Any envy and jealousy detected from the industry, especially considering your great success? And if so, how do you handle it.
FPJ: The most important thing is to make the customers happy. The rest is immaterial.
TP: A lot of industry sources I talked to actually like you. You seems quite popular in the industry. Do you know why?
FPJ: We are a small producer. I am not important enough to worry them yet. The fact is that. Philippe Stern once commented that I inspire other collectors to buy more watches of all brands.
TP: What do you feel about Franck Muller?
FPJ: He is a great success from a business point of view.
TP: Why Geneva and not Paris?
FPJ: The supplies I need are here in Switzerland, Switzerland is not part of Europe, it will be more costly to import parts from Switzerland. Also my team of watchmakers is here.
(The 2003 Lune, a more elegant beauty with subtle aesthetic changes)
TP: Are you a French citizen?
FPJ: Yes, a French citizen residing in Geneva.
TP: You go back to Paris on weekend?
FPJ: Yes, once every two weeks.
TP: To visit your son?
FPJ: Yes. Charles is 15 and residing in Paris, my 20-months-old Maxime is living in Geneva with me.
TP: Are you a workaholic?
FPJ: Yes, but I am still not working enough. It feels like I am only working part time.
TP: How do you balance your work with your social life?
FPJ: I don't have enough time for that, the only thing I like is watchmaking.
TP: Isn't it stressful to be so involved in work alone?
FPJ: Not at all. Maybe I am living in a bubble. I am like a child suffering from autism; I live only in my own watchmaking world. No other hobby.
TP: What is the total remontoir tourbillon production so far?
FPJ: I will publish it officially at a later date, and a full breakdown of each dial and case metal, so that it will be transparent to all collectors and no more pieces will be made.
TP: What is your total annual production for all models?
FPJ: 520 pieces in 2002. I am targeting 700 pieces for this year (2003).
(The much sought after Octa Chronographe)
TP: How many are Tourbillons?
FPJ: About 50 to 80 per year.
TP: Efficient production, all sold?
FPJ: Yes, always produce to meet order, not to build stock.
TP: What is your market size like in each region?
FPJ: We distribute to all point of sales with no particular breakdown.
TP: There were some initial complaints regarding reliability of your watches, especially during your early days.
FPJ: Our return rate is low. We are a young company, we are always improving. We did have some problems in our first batch, which was our first delivery to the United States. But the problems are now solved. We always update the last improvement on the watches sent back to us for maintenance.
(Octa Reserve de Marche, this limited version has an additional moonphase)
TP: Your movement finishing is improving, but still not the absolute best?
FPJ: I am not concerned about that. In fact, we received many compliments on our movement finishing, and our finishing has improved tremendously in the last 2 years. In the beginning, I concentrated on the creating the mechanism, getting it to work and work reliably. Now I have more time, I am doing much better and I am proud of the level of my finishing now.
Philippe Dufour told me just the other day that my finishing quality is now good enough (laughter). I can do even better, but my production cost may increase by 3 times. I have no intention to make my collectors pay through their noses.
TP: Why diamond watches now?
FPJ: The diamond doesn't take away the technicality of the watch.
TP: Would you do a technical watch for women without diamonds?
FPJ: All the models of my collection are precision chronometres (although not COSC certified) and they can be worn by women. To meet my own higher standards of chronometre, I personally do not feel watches should be too small in size. Current Diamond set Octa Divine forexample is simply exquisite on a woman's wrist.
TP: I am already a Journe fan. After this short talk to you, I am even more impressed. This is something I admire most in a watchmaker: being frank and bold. In contrast, some of the Swiss watch brands are so secretive. My sincere compliments to you.
FPJ: There is a French expression that says "My head is getting bigger". But there is nothing simpler than the truth; with the truth you can never make a mistake.
TP: And with the truth, you don't need a good memory too (laughter).
AHCI Discussion Forum | ThePuristS.com Home Page
We welcome comments, suggestions, and corrections to this interview.
Copyright September 2003 - Jaw and ThePuristS.com - all rights reserved
ThePuristS Interview Francois-Paul Journe
by Jaw
© September 2003
(Mr. Francois-Paul Journe)
click to enlarge
Introduction
Francois-Paul Journe is the runaway success who has impressed the true blue purists. Since his first public presentation of his Tourbillon Souveraine in Basel 1999, he has been the fastest rising star in this short 4 years.
I had the good fortune to meet him for a lunch interview in April this year, and we spoke much longer than either one of us expected to.
While I know Journe as a creative and skillful watchmaker, I am floored by his extreme boldness, his transparent honesty, his strong determination and his burning passions for creating watches he is proud of.
Based on his commercial success and critical acclaim, he obviously has more commercial sense than I give him credit for. Despite being a good businessman, he strikes me as someone who just wants to make the best watch he can.
An excerpt of this interview was first published in the 2003 Business Times Annual Watch Supplement. Here is a more complete version exclusive to ThePuristS (Words in brackets are mine).
(GAIA award winner and his first Pocket watch Tourbillon)
The Interview
TP: How did you get started in watchmaking?
FPJ: I was a difficult student in school and my family decided to put me in a watch-making one. I loved watchmaking the minute I arrived at the school. I realized watchmaking is something I can actually feel and do. It is a learning process that is concrete. Not just concept and theory, but something real. I still like it very much today.
TP: Tell us a little more?
FPJ: Not just a little, but the whole story. After 2 years in the Marseilles horological school, I was expelled because I did not follow the rules like I was supposed to.
TP: Really, why?
FPJ: Nothing spectacular. I can't resist giving my opinion. I am too outspoken for my own good and they clearly did not like my attitude. I was not appreciated nor liked by them. In the expulsion letter, I was advised to find another job because they claimed that watchmaking would not be a suitable career for me.
TP: Wow! That was like saying you would never be a good watchmaker. How ironical and wrong it was!
FPJ: That is my mother standing over there (pointing to a friendly lady just about 3m away), and she can testify that everything I said is true.
(F.P. Journe and his mother)
TP: What did you do then?
FPJ: My uncle is a watchmaker and a watch restorer. He is a lot like me and was not comfortable with school. So I joined my uncle as an apprentice in Paris and attended the horological school there. 2 years in school and working with my uncle was very useful. It was in Paris that I learnt most of my horological cultures and skills. I am very lucky to have seen most of the, incredible, fantastic, beautiful vintage pieces being restored by my uncle. And I realized that it was the best place I can learn about the history and skills of watchmaking.
(The first Pocket watch he made in Paris)
TP: Many of the great pieces from famous brands were made by you?
FPJ: In the beginning, I only restored special pieces for a group of collectors. Some of my friends felt that I put in a lot of effort and energy in my work; we decided to form a company as a sort of a contractor and troubleshooter for the big watch houses. The first thing I did was the sympathique clock for John Asprey House in London. Subsequently mysterious pendulum and the mysterious clock and other complications like perpetual calendar etc. for various brands.
(He realizes he has no bread on the table and asks for it with a hearty laugh) I am very French, I cannot live without bread.
I also did a monopusher chronograph for a top brand, through this little company we created in St. Croix. I worked there for a total of 5 years only.
(Symphatique clock made for John Asprey)
TP: You were talking about Leroy? You partly owned the company, right?
FPJ: The company was setup in 1992.
TP: So it was a good start at St Croix for you then?
FPJ: In a way. I had a very good team and we had interesting projects and ideas. The products I developed there were good. I just had a bad partner, but I think it was, overall, a good learning process and not such a bad experience. It was in St. Croix that I learnt the industrial production process.
After I quit the St Croix company, I continued to develop creative mechanism like Grande Sonnerie and a new monopusher Chrono for Ulysse Nardin.
(The piece unique Sonnerie Souveraine, similar to the one he made for Piaget)
TP: Wasn't the Ulysse Nardin monopusher chrono done by Jaquet?
FPJ: It was from me. We are good friends and I gave Jaquet the right to the product. I was too busy to follow up on that project, so I just gave it away. Cartier Pasha big date, for example, is still under my patent.
TP: Why did you choose the most difficult way, starting a business by yourself?
FPJ: Big group or companies never considered me as a part of their strategy. When I created mechanisms for them, I had little control over the production and the implementation of my creation. I felt very often that my inventions were not correctly promoted.
Then I got tired of this. Since I already made my own watches when I was younger, it was natural that I wanted to build my own brand. On hind-sight, I treated that troubleshooting job only as a temporary job.
TP: What made you think you could do it by yourself then?
FPJ: As usual, I don't think, I just do it.
In 1994, I was wearing my self-made tourbillon, and I had a lot of positive reactions from the public about the design and the technical implementation of the watch. This gave me sufficient confidence to start my own brand. The idea started in 1994 and it took 5 years. By 1999 I had presented my products at the AHCI booth, and the reactions from the visitors were very positive. In Basel-2000, I had my own booth for the first time, and even more visitors expressed their interest to buy my Tourbillon. I was further encouraged.
TP: Any outside investors in the beginning?
FPJ: Production parts, work with outside designers and sourcing outside concept will cost big money. And this is not what I wanted. Everything is done by myself and done here; I was actually ready to build the watches when I decided. It was only a question of money for the materials, for the case, for the parts. Not for the production process.
The way I started, it wasn't easy to find the finance. One of my friends suggested that I find a group of collectors to buy my watches. At that time, I was able to find 20 people who were willing to put down deposits to order my tourbillons. It was this project that provided sufficient seed money for me to start my own brand.
TP: That was the first watch you made?
FPJ: My first wristwatch under the brand F.P. Journe Invenit et Fecit is the Remontoir tourbillon. The Grande Sonnerie was an additional unique piece I made under this brand name.
(The Tourbillon Souveraine, a watch to die for)
TP: I heard the Graham Minute repeater you made for British Masters once, but the chimes are less than perfect, in my personal opinion.
FPJ: I did not recommend it to be done in the way it was implemented, but British Masters insisted. Firstly, the Repeater mechanism should not be done from the back and secondly, In a Sonnerie watch, be it a Grande Sonnerie or a Minute Repeater. The key element other than the actual mechanism is the watch case.
The weight, size and the material of the case is of paramount importance. In the Graham piece, the case is too big and too heavy. You simply cannot make a good-sounding violin from a piece of stone.
TP: Why Tourbillon with Remontoir for the first watch. Isn't it too complicated as a launch piece?
FPJ: When I believe in something, I just do it. The Tourbillon is very representative of my approach and my contemporary thinking. I think it is the right model to set the correct direction I want to go.
TP: What is the most difficult part of making your first Constant Force Tourbillon wristwatch?
FPJ: That it actually works!
TP: What was the biggest challenge?
FPJ: The challenge was no one would be interested in my watch during the 80's. I saw its potential only in the 90s. Technically, it was wonderful to work with this watch.
(The Chronometre a Resonance, FPJ made it work in wristwatch size)
TP: Your Resonance, what made you think you could actually do it then?
FPJ: I am crazy. No, I am joking. I wanted to do it, and in wristwatch size. And I just set my mind to do it. This is my style.
TP: The theory of resonance is yet to be fully understood?
FPJ: I believe it is a real phenomenon and it works in practice as proven by my watch now, but initially I wasn't sure if it would work in wristwatch size.
TP: So what made you do it?
FPJ: My philosophy is that I will do it and make it work. I know that if I am determined, it is going to work.
Sometimes I worked continuously for a few days. When things just didn't go right, I stopped.
TP: Was there any moment when you wanted to give up?
FPJ: Sometimes, for a while, but I always came back to my work. It is like climbing a mountain. I need to rest a little on the way up and reorganize my thoughts before resuming the climb. I may be discouraged at times but never defeated.
(Octa Calendrier, A most unusual Annual Calendar)
TP: The Octa range of watches has a clear identity, consistency and a bold character, like something coming from a good business strategist rather than an artist like you.
FPJ: The idea originally came from economic consideration. I am a small player. The cost to pay for cases, for example, is very expensive. If I can use the same type of case for different models, it will save me a lot of money. Of course, it was also my intention to create a strong image from the beginning. I don't have a lot of money to advertise like the big companies, so a characteristic Journe aesthetic is essential.
TP: We are seeing some other watches from very respectable brands looking more and more like Journe watches now.
FPJ: I am happy. As long as I am not copying others, it will only make me stronger. Today, the average collector knows about this. This is why I changed the design in our new lady divine, diamond setting. I am trying to see if others will imitate.
(The 2003 Divine, probably the first Journe watch designed for ladies)
TP: Will the change confuse the Journe fans?
FPJ: No, not at all. Even though it is very different, I think the image of a Journe watch is still very consistent.
TP: I agree. Now that you are recognized and established, do you find your work easier or harder?
FPJ: Easier, because I have a great team. They are serious and skilled. In the beginning, I had to do everything myself, including accounting and other chores.
TP: Tell me about your team.
FPJ: We are a small team of people and hence there is no room for inefficiency and each has to be professional in their own task. I am glad that our team members are professional and efficient:
- I have the good fortune to have an exceptional Financial partner, Philippe Rabin, as the administrative Manager of the company. His personality provides an important balance to a passionate watchmaker like me. He is an extremely supportive character, allowing me complete freedom to set my direction.
(Mr. Philippe Rabin)
- Masaki Saito, our sales manager has long experience in the watch retail industry. He understands the retailers and the customers and is able to anticipate their needs. More importantly, like myself, he believes that products should sell by themselves and not sold by just marketing.
((From left: Francois Paul Journe, John Asprey & Masaki Saito)
- Natalia Signoroni, our Communication and Public Relation Manager is not a typical PR. I am a watchmaker and can sometimes be too technical and specific in my approach. Natalia is able to translate my passions and emotions in a way that can be understood by the public and the journalists. She spends a lot of time with me and understands my situation completely. I make her angry sometimes, but she knows how much work and emotional investment I have put into my watches and my company.
(Natalia Signoroni)
- My great team of watchmakers managed by Georges Alessio. His skills, extensive experience and his humanity means he is able to manage the watchmakers individually and work together harmoniously as a great team, supporting my direction 100% and making my job easier.
(From left: Francois-Paul Journe and Georges Alessio)
- Our new element, Norio Hattori-Paris, who has a Japanese father and a French mother, is the right person to run our office in Japan. Interestingly, Hattori lives in Japan. He speaks perfect French and is very French in nature. Our Saito, in contrast, born and bred in Switzerland, is a Swiss National who speaks French, German and Italian, is more Japanese than Hattori. I mean this as sincere compliments to both Hattori and Masaki.
(Norio Hattori-Paris)
(The F.P. Journe office factory)
TP: Now that you are successful, can you still meet the continuous annual expectation of new innovations?
FPJ: I already have so many new product ideas in my mind and the only problem is my production capacity.
TP: Obviously you design your own movements, but you do need lots of supplies. Is it getting harder to get those parts?
FPJ: The difficultiy is when creating a new model, you have to work until it works and ensure that it works well.
TP: No parts supply problem?
FPJ: I had the problem but much less now. We always pay in time and are reliable.
TP: Why the New Stop Seconds Tourbillon to be launched later?
FPJ: First of all, I want to add on exclusive value to the existing tourbillon Souveraine, but this new one will also be discontinued eventually so it will add value to the new one.
(The Stop Second Tourbillon to be launched later this year or next year, amazing stop second and possibly an 18k solid gold movement, this photo is the only one available publicly, according to F.P. Journe)
TP: Will this strategy continue indefinitely?
FPJ: Yes, I will do the same to increase the collectability of my watches.
TP: At this point of time, what are you most proud of and what do you regret the most?
FPJ: No regrets. My past experience has not been very good, what with a bad ex-partner and it makes me treasure my current great team even more. My team is my pride.
TP: Regarding your initial less than happy experience with your ex-partner in St Croix, are you becoming more skeptical now?
FPJ: We never know. I may repeat my mistake in the future, but I am more careful now. It does not, however mean it won't happen again.
TP: Any envy and jealousy detected from the industry, especially considering your great success? And if so, how do you handle it.
FPJ: The most important thing is to make the customers happy. The rest is immaterial.
TP: A lot of industry sources I talked to actually like you. You seems quite popular in the industry. Do you know why?
FPJ: We are a small producer. I am not important enough to worry them yet. The fact is that. Philippe Stern once commented that I inspire other collectors to buy more watches of all brands.
TP: What do you feel about Franck Muller?
FPJ: He is a great success from a business point of view.
TP: Why Geneva and not Paris?
FPJ: The supplies I need are here in Switzerland, Switzerland is not part of Europe, it will be more costly to import parts from Switzerland. Also my team of watchmakers is here.
(The 2003 Lune, a more elegant beauty with subtle aesthetic changes)
TP: Are you a French citizen?
FPJ: Yes, a French citizen residing in Geneva.
TP: You go back to Paris on weekend?
FPJ: Yes, once every two weeks.
TP: To visit your son?
FPJ: Yes. Charles is 15 and residing in Paris, my 20-months-old Maxime is living in Geneva with me.
TP: Are you a workaholic?
FPJ: Yes, but I am still not working enough. It feels like I am only working part time.
TP: How do you balance your work with your social life?
FPJ: I don't have enough time for that, the only thing I like is watchmaking.
TP: Isn't it stressful to be so involved in work alone?
FPJ: Not at all. Maybe I am living in a bubble. I am like a child suffering from autism; I live only in my own watchmaking world. No other hobby.
TP: What is the total remontoir tourbillon production so far?
FPJ: I will publish it officially at a later date, and a full breakdown of each dial and case metal, so that it will be transparent to all collectors and no more pieces will be made.
TP: What is your total annual production for all models?
FPJ: 520 pieces in 2002. I am targeting 700 pieces for this year (2003).
(The much sought after Octa Chronographe)
TP: How many are Tourbillons?
FPJ: About 50 to 80 per year.
TP: Efficient production, all sold?
FPJ: Yes, always produce to meet order, not to build stock.
TP: What is your market size like in each region?
FPJ: We distribute to all point of sales with no particular breakdown.
TP: There were some initial complaints regarding reliability of your watches, especially during your early days.
FPJ: Our return rate is low. We are a young company, we are always improving. We did have some problems in our first batch, which was our first delivery to the United States. But the problems are now solved. We always update the last improvement on the watches sent back to us for maintenance.
(Octa Reserve de Marche, this limited version has an additional moonphase)
TP: Your movement finishing is improving, but still not the absolute best?
FPJ: I am not concerned about that. In fact, we received many compliments on our movement finishing, and our finishing has improved tremendously in the last 2 years. In the beginning, I concentrated on the creating the mechanism, getting it to work and work reliably. Now I have more time, I am doing much better and I am proud of the level of my finishing now.
Philippe Dufour told me just the other day that my finishing quality is now good enough (laughter). I can do even better, but my production cost may increase by 3 times. I have no intention to make my collectors pay through their noses.
TP: Why diamond watches now?
FPJ: The diamond doesn't take away the technicality of the watch.
TP: Would you do a technical watch for women without diamonds?
FPJ: All the models of my collection are precision chronometres (although not COSC certified) and they can be worn by women. To meet my own higher standards of chronometre, I personally do not feel watches should be too small in size. Current Diamond set Octa Divine forexample is simply exquisite on a woman's wrist.
TP: I am already a Journe fan. After this short talk to you, I am even more impressed. This is something I admire most in a watchmaker: being frank and bold. In contrast, some of the Swiss watch brands are so secretive. My sincere compliments to you.
FPJ: There is a French expression that says "My head is getting bigger". But there is nothing simpler than the truth; with the truth you can never make a mistake.
TP: And with the truth, you don't need a good memory too (laughter).
AHCI Discussion Forum | ThePuristS.com Home Page
We welcome comments, suggestions, and corrections to this interview.
Copyright September 2003 - Jaw and ThePuristS.com - all rights reserved
22 dager til vi er tilbake i London.
Denne gangen har vi booket rom på InterContinental London Park Lane.
Har ikke bodd på InterContinental i Park Lane tidligere. Men hørt veldig mye bra. Blant annet skal Theo Randall sin restaurant på hotellet være verdt ett besøk.
Denne gangen har vi booket rom på InterContinental London Park Lane.
Har ikke bodd på InterContinental i Park Lane tidligere. Men hørt veldig mye bra. Blant annet skal Theo Randall sin restaurant på hotellet være verdt ett besøk.
Theo Randall at The Intercontinental
It may be costly, but the sublime skills of Theo Randall provided the stand-out meal of the year for Jay Rayner. Sometimes you just have to put your money where your mouth is
Jay Rayner
Sunday 3 December 2006 00.38 GMTLast modified on Tuesday 12 January 2016 15.14 GMT
1 Hamilton Place, Park Lane, London W1 (020 7409 3131)
Meal for two, with wine, £140
Too often at dinner there is a third, invisible person sitting alongside myself and my companion. That third person is you, the reader. Or not exactly you, but a version of you, the one who can be guaranteed to roll their eyes and snort with derision when they see the estimated cost of a meal for two. My heart falls when I see big numbers on menus, not because I think it's unreasonable - perhaps I have a realistic sense of what running a restaurant costs, perhaps I no longer have any sense at all - but because I know some of you will be reaching for the flaming torches and pitchforks. So go on, have another look at that £140. Now you have, we can get this out of the way. Theo Randall at the Intercontinental is painfully expensive. Deal with it, because here's the information you really need: this restaurant served me the best meal I have eaten all year.
To people in the know this will not come as a surprise, because Randall is the most famous chef you have never heard of. For 15 years he was head chef and silent partner alongside Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray at the famed River Cafe, which makes a virtue of serving expert Italian peasant food at plutocrat prices (higher, even, than here). Now he has been given his own berth at the recently renovated Intercontinental Hotel on London's Park Lane. It is stylish in a cool corporate way: slate grey floors at the edges and wood in the centre, with chocolate coloured panels holding a motif of backlit grasses. It is also windowless, which does give it an unnecessarily monkish air; why they couldn't have spent a bit of the £60m that went on the refurbishment on banging a few holes in the wall escapes me. Still, there is space enough for a bar where people can eat alone, and for another where prime ingredients and cakes can be laid out, and for a humungous kitchen.
What matters are the things that come out of that kitchen. Randall has spent time at Chez Panisse in California, and the obsession with ingredients there is on show here. Do not expect ground-breaking dishes. Do expect top quality stuff prepared to its very best advantage. We knew we were in for a good time when a plate of antipasti arrived, starring pieces of grilled onion squash (a new one on me) which had the even texture of butter and the pure vegetal sweetness one seeks but so rarely finds. We asked for, and were given, more.
Advertisement
My lovely starter of tender curls of squid with anchovies, chopped parsley and fresh cannellini beans, cooked to retain their bite, was completely trumped by my companion's plate of warm vegetables - carrots and red peppers, Swiss chard, and artichokes, both Jerusalem and globe - draped with bagna caude, that intense, dark, savoury sauce of anchovies and garlic. It says much that this carnivore coveted a plate of vegetables. Before our mains we shared a mid-course of pasta and though the tomato and mushroom sauce was underpowered, perhaps because a little too much of the starchy cooking water had been allowed in, the pasta itself had that ideal mix of silkiness and bite. This was pasta made by someone who has spent an awful lot of their professional life making pasta.
If anything, mains were better than the starters, and I'm sure you would argue that at around £26 each they ought to be: on the other side of the table, an impeccable grilled veal chop with punchy salsa verde and braised fennel, and for me, a roasted fish stew, packed full of clams, monkfish, red mullet, and the freshest of Dorset blue lobster, the meat slipping from the shell like a smooth thigh from a silk stocking.
We were offered the opportunity to be formally introduced to the tarts at the bar (no, not those sorts of tarts; I'm sure the Intercontinental isn't that sort of hotel), and certainly tarts this good deserve a few bows and curtsies. Randall's lemon tart is, quite simply, the best I have ever eaten. And I have eaten Heston Blumenthal's. The pastry is crisp and delicate, the filling soft without being liquid, and sharp without being sour. Almost as good was a crumbly chocolate and almond cake with a crisp chewy surface. I'm sure some will argue that a few of these are River Cafe dishes, simply moved across town. Personally, I think that after 15 years cooking all the lunches and dinners Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray didn't want to turn up for, Randall has the right to claim them as his own. At lunch, which they have just started serving, the place will doubtless be cheaper without being cheap. At dinner it is just expensive. But, all too rarely for London, it is worth it. My advice: put down the pitchforks and start saving.
jay.rayner@observer.co.uk
It may be costly, but the sublime skills of Theo Randall provided the stand-out meal of the year for Jay Rayner. Sometimes you just have to put your money where your mouth is
Jay Rayner
Sunday 3 December 2006 00.38 GMTLast modified on Tuesday 12 January 2016 15.14 GMT
1 Hamilton Place, Park Lane, London W1 (020 7409 3131)
Meal for two, with wine, £140
Too often at dinner there is a third, invisible person sitting alongside myself and my companion. That third person is you, the reader. Or not exactly you, but a version of you, the one who can be guaranteed to roll their eyes and snort with derision when they see the estimated cost of a meal for two. My heart falls when I see big numbers on menus, not because I think it's unreasonable - perhaps I have a realistic sense of what running a restaurant costs, perhaps I no longer have any sense at all - but because I know some of you will be reaching for the flaming torches and pitchforks. So go on, have another look at that £140. Now you have, we can get this out of the way. Theo Randall at the Intercontinental is painfully expensive. Deal with it, because here's the information you really need: this restaurant served me the best meal I have eaten all year.
To people in the know this will not come as a surprise, because Randall is the most famous chef you have never heard of. For 15 years he was head chef and silent partner alongside Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray at the famed River Cafe, which makes a virtue of serving expert Italian peasant food at plutocrat prices (higher, even, than here). Now he has been given his own berth at the recently renovated Intercontinental Hotel on London's Park Lane. It is stylish in a cool corporate way: slate grey floors at the edges and wood in the centre, with chocolate coloured panels holding a motif of backlit grasses. It is also windowless, which does give it an unnecessarily monkish air; why they couldn't have spent a bit of the £60m that went on the refurbishment on banging a few holes in the wall escapes me. Still, there is space enough for a bar where people can eat alone, and for another where prime ingredients and cakes can be laid out, and for a humungous kitchen.
What matters are the things that come out of that kitchen. Randall has spent time at Chez Panisse in California, and the obsession with ingredients there is on show here. Do not expect ground-breaking dishes. Do expect top quality stuff prepared to its very best advantage. We knew we were in for a good time when a plate of antipasti arrived, starring pieces of grilled onion squash (a new one on me) which had the even texture of butter and the pure vegetal sweetness one seeks but so rarely finds. We asked for, and were given, more.
Advertisement
My lovely starter of tender curls of squid with anchovies, chopped parsley and fresh cannellini beans, cooked to retain their bite, was completely trumped by my companion's plate of warm vegetables - carrots and red peppers, Swiss chard, and artichokes, both Jerusalem and globe - draped with bagna caude, that intense, dark, savoury sauce of anchovies and garlic. It says much that this carnivore coveted a plate of vegetables. Before our mains we shared a mid-course of pasta and though the tomato and mushroom sauce was underpowered, perhaps because a little too much of the starchy cooking water had been allowed in, the pasta itself had that ideal mix of silkiness and bite. This was pasta made by someone who has spent an awful lot of their professional life making pasta.
If anything, mains were better than the starters, and I'm sure you would argue that at around £26 each they ought to be: on the other side of the table, an impeccable grilled veal chop with punchy salsa verde and braised fennel, and for me, a roasted fish stew, packed full of clams, monkfish, red mullet, and the freshest of Dorset blue lobster, the meat slipping from the shell like a smooth thigh from a silk stocking.
We were offered the opportunity to be formally introduced to the tarts at the bar (no, not those sorts of tarts; I'm sure the Intercontinental isn't that sort of hotel), and certainly tarts this good deserve a few bows and curtsies. Randall's lemon tart is, quite simply, the best I have ever eaten. And I have eaten Heston Blumenthal's. The pastry is crisp and delicate, the filling soft without being liquid, and sharp without being sour. Almost as good was a crumbly chocolate and almond cake with a crisp chewy surface. I'm sure some will argue that a few of these are River Cafe dishes, simply moved across town. Personally, I think that after 15 years cooking all the lunches and dinners Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray didn't want to turn up for, Randall has the right to claim them as his own. At lunch, which they have just started serving, the place will doubtless be cheaper without being cheap. At dinner it is just expensive. But, all too rarely for London, it is worth it. My advice: put down the pitchforks and start saving.
jay.rayner@observer.co.uk
Skal en liten tur til London imorgen for å besøke en venn, men da han studerer på dagtid skal jeg tusle rundt i Mayfair/Soho/Belgravia og behøver en lunsj-anbefaling som egner seg godt til for et solo-løp før en klokke-meltdown rundt Bond st.
Tar gjerne noe nytt, og da ekskluderer det Browns, Hakkasan, Alt inne på Harrods (dersom de ikke har fått noe nytt det siste halve året), HD på Connaught, The Wolseley som er de jeg kommer på on top of my head. Forrige ukes kjøp av Patek sitter fremdeles hardt i for min stakkars lommebok, så behøver ikke være så avsindig dyrt!
Edit: @ahpadt er Patty & Bun noe å satse på?
Tar gjerne noe nytt, og da ekskluderer det Browns, Hakkasan, Alt inne på Harrods (dersom de ikke har fått noe nytt det siste halve året), HD på Connaught, The Wolseley som er de jeg kommer på on top of my head. Forrige ukes kjøp av Patek sitter fremdeles hardt i for min stakkars lommebok, så behøver ikke være så avsindig dyrt!
Edit: @ahpadt er Patty & Bun noe å satse på?
Skal en liten tur til London imorgen for å besøke en venn, men da han studerer på dagtid skal jeg tusle rundt i Mayfair/Soho/Belgravia og behøver en lunsj-anbefaling som egner seg godt til for et solo-løp før en klokke-meltdown rundt Bond st.
Tar gjerne noe nytt, og da ekskluderer det Browns, Hakkasan, Alt inne på Harrods (dersom de ikke har fått noe nytt det siste halve året), HD på Connaught, The Wolseley som er de jeg kommer på on top of my head. Forrige ukes kjøp av Patek sitter fremdeles hardt i for min stakkars lommebok, så behøver ikke være så avsindig dyrt!
Er du gla i sjømat, og liker å sitte ved bardisken å spise. Så stemmer jeg for en lunsj hos Barrafina i frith street. Trangt og sosialt.
Ellers så må du innom The Palomar hvis du fortsatt ikke har spist der.