F.P. Journe’s Last-Ever Limited Edition – Chronographe FB
To mark 20 years of its first boutique, and also 20 years of limited editions, F.P. Journe has created its final limited edition of any sort. Limited to 200 pieces, the F.P. Journe Chronographe FB is a flyback chronograph with big date that’s powered by the manual-wind cal. 1518.2. Like past boutique anniversary editions, this has a titanium case with pink gold accents. Initial thoughts In terms of intrinsic attributes, the Chronographe FB scores well on all counts. It is a good looking watch that is priced well. The FB doesn’t depart from the established aesthetic for boutique editions, which is a good thing since the titanium-and-gold combination is appealing. The watch is classical F.P. Journe in terms of dimensions at 40 mm wide and just over 10 mm high, which makes it elegantly slim. Styling aside, the FB is also notable as it is equipped with a new calibre. Few brands design new movements for a small-run limited edition. Admittedly the cal. 1518.2 inside is based on the current split-seconds movement, but it is still a new, different construction. Technically, the movement is not as much of an achievement as say the FFC or Vagabondage III, but it is executed well, and the watch is priced right for the complication. As is typical for majority of F.P. Journe watches, the Chronographe FB is reasonably priced at retail, just CHF90,000 before taxes. Accessibility, rather than affordability, is instead the problem. That’s true despite the 200 piece run is bigger than...
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