Beyond Bleu – The World of Bold and Obscure Journe Limited Editions

If you’re a watch collector or enthusiast at any level, no one needs to tell you that watches from F.P. Journe are scarce. Whether speaking of the secondary market, or even new and current production, the brand’s annual production remains under 1,000 pieces a year. To give that number some context, we can safely say that there are less than 20,000 Journe watches on the planet. By comparison, Audemars Piguet—a brand that the watch world generally bills as “exclusive” on a regular basis—will cap its production at 40,000 watches annually. Even if we put aside for a moment the level of complexity and technical prowess that goes into the Journe portfolio, this scarcity is just one of countless reasons that collectors worldwide flock to the outspoken legend of independent watchmaking.

Sure, some designs in his catalog are a touch “outlandish” for some (Linesport in particular), but where things get interesting is in the numerous special editions Journe has crafted for his retail partners around the globe. Tokyo to Byblos, Singapore to Dallas, these rare birds most often feature design cues, materials, and finishes that seem almost out of place when compared to the standard collections. As is often the case with Journe, the specifics surrounding every last special edition can be tricky to find. With this in mind, we’ve narrowed the list down to a healthy “top 10.”

Chronomètre Souverain Dubai Boutique Edition

We’re starting the list off with something simple, but also something quite rare from Journe—the use of bold/vibrant color. Sure, we’ve seen bright reds and yellow examples of the Centigraphe, but otherwise, you tend to not get much in the way of vibrant colors from Journe. This piece was made to commemorate the opening of the brand’s Dubai boutique and was produced in a production run of 99 pieces. Though colorful, it’s still a bit of a “sleeper” on account of its platinum dial, masking its precious status when compared to the more commonly used rose gold.

Vagabondage 1, Sincere Fine Watches Edition

The Vagabondage 1 is (obviously) the first in what has since become a peculiar trio of unorthodox Journe creations that have been produced in quite limited numbers. The first three examples were produced in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Antiquorum, cased in white gold, yellow gold, and rose gold. These were then followed by 66 additional platinum cased variants to be split amongst Journe’s global boutiques between 2004 and 2006. Of these, only 10 feature this charming, customized dial that was created for Sincere Fine Watches. Though still elegant in execution, this is hands-down the most blatantly “branded” Journe boutique edition in existence. Looking closely, the decorative elements between the hour markers on its dial are actually the Sincere Fine Watches logo.

 Octa Automatique Lune France-China 50

Looking for something far more subtle? How about a simple blue-dialed Octa Lune, once again offered in a platinum case. This was a peculiar one, to say the least, as it’s not designed for a particular retail partner, but rather as a commemoration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between France and China. Specific numbers are vague but based on available information we know that less than 30 of these models were ever created. Much as people tend to fall over themselves over Journe’s Chronometre Bleu, this blue Octa is rarer and more complicated than its more highly coveted sibling.

Swiss FineTiming Set: Octa Chronographe and Chronométre Souverain

Ok, now it’s time to get weird, and I mean proper weird. Designed for Swiss FineTiming in Chicago, this set is the only time you’ll see an F.P. Journe with red numerals. Eight of the Chronométre Souverain were made, and 7 of the Octa Chronograph. The chronograph is a rare bird on its own, as it was produced for four years (between 2004 and 2008). Fun fact, this was the first big date flyback chronograph in existence to offer a massive power reserve of 120 hours.

Centigraphe Souverain Anniversaire Tokyo Edition

The design of the Centigraphe can be called polarizing on a good day, but this special commemorative variant is about as handsome as they come. A titanium case, a ruthenium dial, sapphire subdials, and rose gold indices and accents? This is one of those rare cases where a two-tone look is pulled off better than just about anything in the market. First launched to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Journe’s Tokyo boutique (in a series of 10), it became the placeholder for limited edition models for each of the brand’s boutiques globally. As each boutique hits its 10-year milestone, more of these beauties will be released into the wild.

Chronométre Holland & Holland

Of the handful of properly out-of-the-ordinary watches unveiled by F.P. Journe over the years, the Chronométre Holland & Holland was one that had many of us staring confused at one another and wondering what was going on. You see, Holland & Holland is a British gunmaker with roots dating back to 1835. Now, they didn’t just come to Journe and say “hey, let’s collaborate on a watch.” No, that would be far too simple. Instead, Holland & Holland offered up a pair of their museum guns from 1868 and 1882 to be cut into watch dials. All told, 66 examples made it into the wild, all powered by Journe’s hand wound caliber 1304, which also features two (mainspring) barrels.

Chronomètre Bleu Byblos

The more you go down this rabbit hole of obscure Journe references, the weirder things get. The Chronomètre Bleu Byblos was a 2014 release in a series of 99 examples, featuring the same beloved tantalum case as the standard Bleu model. The obvious difference is its dial, or lack thereof. A large cutaway in the dial almost reminds you of a cartoon sun, leaving enough surrounding blue to properly display its Arabic numerals. A special finishing is applied to the movement’s mainplate and a crisp perlage is present on the bridge for the fourth wheel, which drives the running seconds hand. The piece was released as a nod to Journe’s Beirut location—the 10th of his standalone boutiques.

Octa Calendrier, Sincere Fine Watches Edition

Journe has had a handful of mother-of-pearl dials in his catalog over the years, however, the true standouts have been rare and exclusive models launched (once again) with Sincere Fine Watches. Rather than using lighter and more subtle mother-of-pearl, his limited releases leverage some of the most vibrant pieces of black mother-of-pearl that we’ve seen in watchmaking. In the case of this 15-piece series of Octa Calendrier, we see a fantastic iridescent blue/green sheen that has visual characteristics that border on that of black opal.