Results for Journe Elegante

A Week On The Wrist: Look Ma, No Hands: The Mesmerizing Trilobe Une Folle Journée

It's hand-less and looks like a wizard's orb, but is it wearable?

Swatch Expands their Art Journey Collection with Three New Watches Inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat

For the last year, Swatch has existed primarily as the brand that makes and sells the MoonSwatch, their enormous, crossover hit made in partnership with Omega. It’s tough to underestimate the impact of the MoonSwatch on the watch world, mostly because its impact transcends the watch world. Your friends and family who are not part of the hobby, don’t read this site and others like it, and may not even own a watch, are almost certainly aware of the MoonSwatch. They’ve seen an advertisement for it, or have heard about it on the news, or perhaps they’ve stumbled onto the impressive MoonSwatch displays in a Swatch store, only to be told that the watches aren’t actually available to buy. Swatch has recently upped the ante somewhat on the MoonSwatch front by offering extremely limited versions with gold plated seconds hands, and it has me (and others) wondering if the hype for these watches has crested, and longing for Swatch to go back to making really cool Swatches like the ones so many of us grew up with.  The truth is, Swatch never stopped making exactly those kinds of watches, but they’ve been somewhat lost in the hysteria for the MoonSwatch. Now, though, comes a series of watches that I think might actually rival the MoonSwatch in terms of enthusiast interest, at least in some quarters. The latest entry in the Swatch Art Journey collection (that has already seen releases this year with watches based on pieces by Roy Lichtenstein, René Magritte, and others) is ...

Hands-On: Trilobe Une Folle Journée

The French brand's unique take on timekeeping is completely exploded with its latest collection.

Introducing the Trilobe Une Folle Journée Diamant and Dune

Best Design 2022: Trilobe Une Folle Journée

Moser’s Decade-Long Journey to The Rainbow

BVLGARI Octo Finissimo, The New Icon Part I: The Beginning of a Journey

In a new four part series, we look back at one of the most seminal watch designs to have emerged in the last decade, the BVLGARI Octo Finissimo, and its rapid ascendancy to the lofty heights of haute horlogerie. In part one, Wei speaks with two of the key individuals at BVLGARI who were instrumental […]

The Magic Continues: Une Folle Journée by Trilobe

Grand Seiko and BCXSY present The Journey of Birch

The wintry beauty of a birch forest is captured in an art installation collaboration between Grand Seiko and interdisciplinary design studio BCXSY.

My Watch Story: Beginning A Journey With A Panerai Luminor, Restoring A Father's Bulova, A Patek Philippe Nautilus As Quarantine Watch, And More

Five video stories from HODINKEE readers.

The G-SHOCK Gateway: A Watch Collector’s Journey

Casio Singapore, in partnership with Revolution, sits down with local collector, Dr Julian Ong, who got his start collecting G-SHOCKs in his youth.

A Talk With Chopard’s Co-Founder, Caroline Scheufele About Their Ethical Journey To Sustainable Luxury

It’s on the rooftop of the Martinez Hotel during the Cannes Festival, that we were privileged enough to interview Caroline Scheufele in regards to her latest High Jewelry collection unveiled on the opening night and hear more insights about their big announcement during Baselworld and their involvement in fairmined trading. Exclusive interview with the co-founder and creative director of Chopard.

My Tortured Journey To The SKX007

Reader Fred Nicolaus shares his Seiko SKX007 buying adventure and shows us how much of a maddening process it can be.

Meister and Kalendar: The Journey of Junghans

The Junghans Meister Kalendar Moonphase is the most classical and a great vintage watch with modern aesthetics for the beginner collector.

My Collecting Journey: Chester, A Collector’s View

Chester shares his collecting experience. Find out what young collectors have in mind.

Vacheron Constantin’s New Exhibition: A Journey Through Decorations

Some brands have a true luxury problem, and amongst them is Vacheron Constantin for sure. The Maison’s rich history has resulted in a private collection of 1,200 pieces, and the problem is that all of them can be considered highlights of their genre. Yet such a wealth of timepieces also offers numerous possibilities to create […]

A Journey Through Time: Luxury Watch Shopping at Starhill Gallery in Malaysia

Up Close: Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Antimagnétique “Only Watch”

The two most important examples of independent watchmaking in Only Watch 2024 are arguably the stealthy F.P. Journe Chronomètre Furtif Bleu and the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Antimagnétique, each a significant creation of a leading watchmaker of his generation (and interesting enough, both are sports watches). Inspired by mid-20th century explorer’s watches that were magnetism-resistant, the Chronomètre Antimagnétique (RRCA) is an elegant but robust watch with a stainless steel case and an entirely new calibre equipped with an indirectly-driven centre seconds with a hacking, zero-reset mechanism. In its Only Watch form, the RRCA is a unique watch but also a prototype for a new line of elegant sports watches. NB: The watch pictured is a work in progress that is not entirely finished so the dial is a prototype and the movement is not perfectly clean. It will be delivered in a perfect state to the eventual owner. Initial thoughts Many of the RRCA’s details bring to mind mid-20th century “sports” watches. Not the sports watches we know of today, but rather the water-resistant Patek Philippe watches made in the 1940s and 1950s for gentlemen sportsmen and adventurers. This reflects with Rexhep Rexhepi’s respect for traditional Geneva watchmaking, which is also expressed in the RRCC but in a different manner. The RRCA subtly marks a new direction for Rexhep Rexhepi’s aesthetics. It’s clearly a thoughtful evolution of the RRCC. While the RRCC is a dress watch, ...

SJX Podcast: Independent Watchmaking Retrospective

Ahead of Geneva Watch Days — which will feature 71 brands, many of them independent — episode 49 of the SJX Podcast looks back at how independent watchmaking became the phenomenon it is today. SJX and Brandon trace its evolution from 1970s pioneers like George Daniels and François-Paul Journe through the arrival of Daniel Roth, Philippe Dufour, and Franck Muller. The conversation also examines the avant-garde boom of the 2000s, the renewed emphasis on traditional finishing, and the role of digital photography and social media in transforming a solitary pursuit into a global collecting community. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.  

The Watches the World Cup 2026 Players Are Actually Wearing

Ronaldo brought a Rainbow Daytona. Messi pulled out an off-catalog Day-Date with a turquoise dial. Casemiro is the surprise of the bunch with an F.P. Journe. Here's every wrist worth talking about from the tournament so far.

Recommended Reading: 'Ultimate Collector Watches' From Taschen Offers A Scholarly Approach To Watch Books

In two recent conversations, I repeated my frequently used adage: "I can't collect the watches, so I collect the knowledge." This was said when talking to two world-class collectors; one has one of the most complete collections of Patek Philippe split-second wristwatches, and the other has probably the most important collection of Lange, F.P. Journe, and historical watches in the world. Both of them said the same thing, which I'll paraphrase. "I didn't have the money to collect these watches until X years ago, but before that, I was learning." That's why I own a lot of books—even if I probably will never reach those heights—and I'm always looking for more. Knowledge means a lot. Watch books often fall into two categories: either overly esoteric, with a ton of information, or overly broad, without a ton of information but with a lot of nice pictures. I have a bit of each, but I find myself returning to the former most often. You can glean a lot of information from books like AP's "20th Century Complicated Watches" or Patek Philippe's two-volume museum collection tomes, but you only need them once or twice a year. My books on Rolex Day-Dates or Khanjar Daytonas are awesome, but a bit less visited after the first pass. Dr. Helmut Crott's "The Dial" is maybe the most important book on my shelf, but sometimes more information than I want to sit and mindlessly digest. Taschen's new two-volume offering, "Ultimate Collectors Watches" by Charlotte and Peter Fiell, bridges the g...

Baltic and SpaceOne Launch the Seconde Majeure

Baltic and SpaceOne have unveiled their first collaboration: the Seconde Majeure, an architectural time-only watch that employs a newly-developed jumping hours module developed by French independent watchmaker — and F.P. Journe Young Talent Winner — Théo Auffret. This collaboration was born from a meeting of the minds at Baltic’s offices more than four years ago when Mr Auffret first met Guillame Laidet. That encounter ultimately led to the creation of SpaceOne, an inventive entry level brand with space-age designs. From that chance meeting at Baltic, the two brands have teamed up on their first collaborative project. Initial thoughts On paper, these two brands are near-diametrically opposed. Baltic makes vintage-inspired watches in a traditional form, while SpaceOne takes a deconstructed and highly creative approach to watches that look like they’ve just fallen from orbit. What ties the two brands together for this collaboration is a friendship, and shared vision for how to bring thoughtful design to a lower price point. As the year unfolds, 2026 continues to feel like the year of the jumping hours watch. The Seconde Majeure is another watch reinforcing that trend, but it also taps into the growing desire for architectural watchmaking and hand finishing across wider price points in the market. In that sense, it reminds me of the Christopher Ward C12 Loco. Baltic and SpaceOne have taken an interesting path in bringing the Seconde Majeure to market, making it avail...

Hazemann & Monnin Wins 2026 Louis Vuitton Watch Prize

Today in Paris a panel of five judges – including Carole Forestier-Kasapi and Kari Voutilainen – presented Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin with the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives. The very same young watchmakers who won the F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition in 2023, the pair clinched the prize for their jump-hour “School Watch”. Launched in 2023 by Jean Arnault, who has spearheaded Louis Vuitton’s fine watchmaking ambitions, the initiative supports promising independent watchmakers while burnishing the maison’s credibility in the watch world. Last year the trophy – and its matching Louis Vuitton trunk – went to Raul Pages for his RP1 Régulateur à Détente. This edition’s victors met at Lycée Edgar Faure, a technical high school in Morteau, France, which is well known for its strong and respected watch and jewellery bent. Their aptly named School Watch developed from the pair’s school watch project. They have since set up shop in Saint-Aubin-Sauges, Switzerland, though both will now have the option of a one-year apprenticeship at Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps manufacture in Geneva, in addition to financial support. In December, a Committee culled the 20 semifinalists, which we covered here, down to just five in December and appointed a five-person panel to select the winner. Other finalists included Norifumi Seki, who debuted the ambitious Fading Hours alarm watch, and Bernhard Lederer. Carole Forestier-Kasapi pr...

Year in Review: Our Best Stories of 2025

Our 2025 coverage included original research and in-depth stories including CEO interviews, engineering explainers, behind-the-scenes manufacture visits, and hands-on features exploring the latest developments in modern horology. We’d like to thank our readers for their engagement and support, which continue to shape and sustain our work. Our founder SJX provided an in-depth study of the Breguet Sympathique No. 1, with exclusive insights from its creator François-Paul Journe. The story is notable not only for its technical reconstruction of the mechanism but also for clarifying how the Sympathique informed Journe’s earliest thinking as a constructor before launching his namesake brand. SJX also spent time with the people leading the industry. Interviews with Kari Voutilainen, Gregory Kissling, Ilaria Resta, and Marc Michel-Amadry offered unusually direct insight into how each manufacture is approaching product development, heritage, and shifting collector behaviour. That research-driven approach continued across several technical features, including his hands-on review of the Rolex Land-Dweller, the most consequential mainstream release of 2025. His analysis unpacked both the engineering decisions behind the cal. 7135 and the strategic implications of Rolex introducing a new collection. Finally his analysis of the record-breaking Patek Philippe ref. 1518 in steel and reporting from the major auctions traced the evolving tastes and appetites of a tightening pool of top...

Report: Geneva Fall Auctions 2025

The just-concluded Geneva auction season was mostly a plateau with several striking peaks and a few lows. The peaks were marked by desirable timepieces that outperformed by far, yet shared little in common with one another in terms of style or period. The peaks ranged from multiple F.P. Journe watches to a diamond-set Patek Philippe ref. 3424/1 “Gilbert Albert” to the Breguet four-minute tourbillon pocket watch from 1809 to the Instagram-ready Patek Philippe ref. 3970 in “salmon” with Breguet numerals. Despite such diverse taste, the small pool of bidders seemed to have one thing in common: they were all focused on a “trophy” watch. The Christie’s saleroom in the Four Seasons. Image – Christie’s With few exceptions, contemporary watches from mainstream brands were cold, while vintage watches were mostly lukewarm – but as always there were exceptions. An Patek Philippe ref. 570 with a black dial signed “E. Gubelin” sold for an impressive CHF419,100 including fees, or US$523,000, at Christie’s, while Phillips sold a Rolex Daytona ref. 6263 “RCO” (or “Oyster Sotto”) for an equally impressive CHF1.39 million, or US$1.73 million – close to the historical peak for the model. A vintage watch that surprised on the downside was the 1927 Rolex Oyster worn by Mercedes Gleitze when she became the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1927 – a landmark in Rolex lore. Though it sold for CHF1.39 million, or US$1.74 million, there was just one bi...

In-Depth: The Breguet Sympathique, From the Duc d’Orléans to “No. 1”

This spring, one of the most important horological creations of the late twentieth century returns to public view. As part of The Geneva Watch Auction: XXI taking place on May 10 and 11, Phillips will offer the Breguet Sympathique No. 1, the first of twenty exceptional clocks commissioned by Breguet in the early 1990s. The primary creator of this landmark clock was none other than Francois-Paul Journe, then a young watchmaker. Completed in 1991 for the Art of Breguet auction, No. 1 is not just the prototype of the modern Sympathique series, it is its most ambitious. The example, paired with a tourbillon wristwatch, is equipped with a constant-force remontoir and moonphase display. In retrospect, it reads as a mechanical manifesto, foreshadowing Journe’s later independent work. More than a highlight of its upcoming sale, No. 1 represents a rare continuation of one of watchmaking’s great inventions, a direct link to Abraham-Louis Breguet himself. Detail of Sympathique no. 1 Of Breguet’s many breakthroughs, from the tourbillon to the pare-chute, none captured the marriage of mechanical brilliance and poetic vision quite like the Pendule Sympathique. Designed to wind, set, and regulate a paired watch automatically, it embodied a new kind of horological harmony: a master timekeeper caring for its portable counterpart. The calendar on Sympathique no. 1 By the late 20th century, these clocks had become near-mythical. Only a handful were ever built, most housed in royal coll...

One To Watch: Hazemann & Monnin - Two Young Watchmakers, Two Aesthetics, One Model, One Brand

The 2023 F. P. Journe Young Talent Competition winners, watchmakers Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin, have launched their first watches with a creative new approach.

Only For Japan - The Biver Automatique with Grand Feu Enamel Dial

Jean-Claude Biver and his son Pierre continue their journey of independent horology with the Biver Automatique Japan Edition. Made in collaboration with its retailer in Japan, this special release is based on the time-only automatic debuted last year, but reimagined to cater to the traditionally classical taste of the Japanese collector. The minimalist edition debuts in two elegant variants that explore the contrast of light and shadow through hard-fired enamel made by an enamel workshop in Geneva’s Old Town. A stark white enamel dial is paired with a platinum case, while the high-contrast version matches a glossy black dial with a rose gold case – both share a clean, old-school aesthetic with applied markers and a railway minute track. A tribute to the Japanese collector The Automatique epitomises Biver’s neoclassical and elaborate approach to watchmaking, which blends careful detailing with hand-finishing techniques, for both habillage and the movement. Now the Japan Edition further refines the approach, condensing the more elaborate execution of the original versions into something more traditional, more classical, and arguably more reflective of the taste of Japanese enthusiasts. The two distinct models pay homage to the Japanese appreciation of minimalist aesthetics combined with high quality and precision execution, along with a well-established love of mid-century precision Swiss wristwatches. The clarity of the vintage-inspired design makes the Japan Edition ...

Havid Nagan Comes of Age with the Classic One

Having made its debut two years ago with the Schwarz Etienne-powered HN00, Havid Nagan returns with Classic One, a chronometer-certified dress watch with a multi-layered dial. Available in two dial finishes, ebony or ivory, the Classic One takes the nascent brand in a new, more traditional direction. The Havid Nagan brand was launched on Kickstarter in 2019 by Aren Bazerkanian, who at the time was working as Director of Operations at the FP Journe boutique in Los Angeles. One of the guiding principles of Havid Nagan is an emphasis on slimness, which is an obsession that Mr Bazerkanian picked up from his time working for Mr Journe. Initial thoughts The original HN00 and subsequent HN01 were thoughtful and appealing watches, but the Classic One feels like a more mature product. In my opinion, the debut models were a bit overambitious with their proprietary strap system, which, though sleek and attractive, result in the risk of not being able to find replacement straps in the future. The Classic One, on the other hand, is more traditional in its construction, with classic lugs that can accommodate a variety of straps (the watch comes standard with straps from Jean-Rousseau). As a result of being more classical in orientation, the central feature of the Classic One is its multi-part dial with an unusual construction made up of clear sapphire sandwiched by brass discs. Finished with applied Calatrava-style hour markers, the overall effect is dynamic and attractive. In terms of...

Introducing: The Havid Nagan Classic One - The Los Angeles-Based Brand’s Third Model

If you have not heard of Havid Nagan, it is about time you did. F.P.Journe alumnus Aren Bazerkanian founded the brand in 2022, and he is doing things properly. Despite barely three years of the brand’s existence, Bazerkanian dropped his third watch recently: the Havid Nagan Classic One. Havid Nagan does not follow your average […] Visit Introducing: The Havid Nagan Classic One - The Los Angeles-Based Brand’s Third Model to read the full article.