An encounter with the Astronomic Souveraine and a conversation with Francois-Paul Journe.
Last week, during the salon at Montres Journe in Geneva, I was so lucky to finally see the Astronomic Souveraine. I have been wanting to see it for ages, but circumstances have kept me out of reach. This high-end watch, has been building up in my mind wit...
Thans for a terrific review my friend, it must have been quite a moment to see this watch in the metal (and on FPJ's wrist! :-)
Horological/scientific achievements of this level make our hobby so interesting and fascinating! Cheers.
A hige pleasure, Dear Fab
I hope you are keeping well. This was an unforgettable experience. To get to fiddle with a watch of this caliber is extraordinary. Best Christian
Fantastic report...
...a small thing but I wish 'ASTRONOMIC' were significantly smaller or absent on the dial.
Thank you so much
I don’t disagree however it is still better than the text on the “Grande ect Petite Sonnerie” ;-)
I have an issue with most manufacturers...
...not just FPJ when it comes to text/graphic design elements on watches.
I Think it’s a part of his signature style to use lots of text.
It is on the dials, on the cases and the has been from the very beginning. Greubel Forsey do it as well, although in a different style. I think it’s something you either like or not, which is totally fair 😊
It's part 'like it or not' and part...
...is it done well? Some of the kerning (space between letters) is atrocious. Hire a real graphic designer and do it right if you're going to do it... They're his watches, he can do what he likes, I am just asking for competence in a field in which he is ...
Thank you for the fantastic report! A tour de force indeed ...
Was the prototype finished? Did you have a chance to hear the repeater?
A real pleasure
The movement on the prototype was made of brass and not finished. This piece it was 18 kt amd very nicely finished.
That's quite some "few words"
Now I'll do a double take when people are described as person "with few words". Just kidding. Great read, great review, thanks for this.
Thank you so much my dear friend 😊
Yes, it’s really something! I hope you are keeping well!
Yes I am thank you
and trying very hard to discipline myself not to buy a watch (any watch!)
Oh boy - I have been there so often. And then...
However it does make sense as collector strategy. Eventually you will fail but buy less 😁😎
Wow. Not much else to say...
...but, what an amazing piece of art. From the front you wouldn’t even know what lies beneath but when you flip it over...speechless. Great write up and thanks for sharing.
One question though...
Is there a reason FPJ decided to do the time in a regulator style rather than just embed hours and minutes all within the right sub-dial like many of his other pieces?
Yes, That a great question. There is probably more than one reason..
One is that he remains true to redesigning his astronomic watch from 1987. The other reason could be that a regulator time display comes from the scientific side of horology, where you can get a very accurate reading of your Chronometer. So I think he wan...
Thank you so much for your kind words 😃 Yes, very good point you make!
And probably the same impression I got during the dinner, as I got to see the watch worn out in the wild.
Excellent write-up Christian!
I enjoyed reading every bit of it. What you have done here, by delving into the history, design considerations, the finer details and lovely photos, bridges the gap between watchmaker and watch lovers. Not every watchmaker provides a detailed backstory fo...
Wow, Noak - thank you so much for your very kind comments.
It was truly a pleasure (even if it took some time to do) I feel this watch deserves the extra attantion and it becomes so much more interesting to deeper one goes. Im just so glad that you liked it. kindest regards Christian
Nice job, Christian!
And I'm very happy you got to wear it. Before I go off rereading all the other articles I've seen on this piece can you remind me/us what the two sundials on the left of the dial are doing? I'm referring to the 24 hour dial and the register partially unde...
Thank you, Mike 😊 it was a great experience.
The big dial to the left displays the sidereal time. 24 hours and minutes. The smal disk below is the seconds display. It spins and animates the dial a little bit. Quite nice!
A wonderful review of an impressive piece of engineering.
Your admiration and attraction to this watch transpires from every line, and this alone is testament to the Astronomic. The best watches give us these emotions. Because they are not telling us the time, they touch us they same way good pieces of art does....
Dear Daniel, thank you for your very warm words.
It really means a lot that you liked it and it made sense I admit I was taken by storm. Much more than I had anticipated, as this type of watch is in a category I don’t personally follow. I think the strength of the front dial is that he didn’t overplay i...
Yesterday I had the pleasure to see, hold and play with the Astronomic
Needless to say it's a super impressive piece of engineering feat. Hats off to Mr. Journe.
Yes, isn’t it. And still very wearable.
You can’t say that for very many of the watches in this category.