F.P. Journe

Douglas
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Fair Enough

Fair enough.  Don’t mean to imply that there has not been an aesthetic consideration to all the Journe pieces—he is, after all, French.  My point is that the focus has always been upon chronometry, in everything M. Journe talks about.  It seems, then, to me that a direct correlation is the ability to measure and read time easily (and time functions such as dates, signs of the zodiac, etc.) easily.  The black label CS strikes me as somewhat of a departure (maybe even slight) in this since the black face coupled with the blue-steeled hands make the reading of the time much more difficult.  And, while I agree that the Ti/RG CS from the Tokyo boutique as well as the Vagabondage are examples of a ‘tougher read,’ neither, to my eye, are quite as hard as the black label CS.

 In no way do I mean this critically.  Some watches appear to tilt more to objects d’arte than others (e.g., Breguet’s La Tradition).  I think M. Journe has accomplished a wonderful balance between craft and art from the beginning.  But. . .I am still fascinated that with his long focus on chronometry (and maybe I’m wrong and that’s not about legibility) there would be a piece maybe more striking as an object than as a device to show us time.

 Best,

 Douglas