SDC Weekly 38; Journe's Élégante; Low down on Parmigiani & Vaucher
SDC Weekly 38; Journe's Élégante; Low down on Parmigiani & Vaucher
What's going on with Greubel Forsey? MoonSwatch, Buffett's annual letter, Swatch delisting, Art fraud, Rolex school, Moon landing, Brains not required and updatelessness.
Life is inordinately precious, unlikely and beautiful. You are exquisite. When you say – as you do, 20 times a day – “I’m fine”, realise that you don’t just mean “I’m adequate”. You are FINE. Refined. Unique. Finely crafted; fine dining; fine china! You really are fine in that sense too. We say it all the time, but unknowingly we speak the truth.
Simon Boas
Who is Simon Boas? Why would anyone pay over £3500 for a MoonSwatch? Who will buy Vaucher? What is so good about Journe’s Élégante?
Hello 👋 and welcome back to the SDC Weekly. Today, you’ll find answers to the questions posed above, and you’ll find the older editions of SDC Weekly here.
If you wanted further evidence of humanity’s insanity, look no further than this Sotheby’s result in which a unique ‘Beijing Edition’ suitcase containing 11 bioceramic Moonswatches with 18k MoonshineTM Gold seconds hands was sold for 60,960 Swiss Francs, or approximately £55,000. If that wasn’t wild enough for you, don’t fret. That wasn’t the only one! There were 10 other suitcases, and the cheapest one of the remaining ten was the ‘Singapore Edition’ which sold for 38,100 Swiss Francs or around £34,000. Now bear in mind, these MoonshineTM watches retail for $300 or £250 - so someone paid or more than 12x more in the low result, and 20x more in the highest result - making these results incredibly confusing... That is over CHF 4,100 (£3,673) per MoonSwatch. I have decided to chalk this up to being an elaborate donation to a charitable cause, and the watches are a mere gesture of thanks to the donor; The Sotheby’s listing notes:
The proceeds from each set will be entirely given to OMEGA’s long-term partner, Project Orbis International Inc., who fight avoidable blindness and vision loss around the world.
Orbis’s work is especially valuable for children, allowing many of them to see their parents, the moon, and the stars for the very first time. Through its programs and on board the Flying Eye Hospital, Orbis has provided care for millions of patients, while also training eye care professionals in areas with the greatest need globally. OMEGA has supported Orbis since 2011 and this upcoming auction will highlight the brand’s ongoing commitment to the cause.
The saving grace, I think, is that every suitcase will contain a golden monocle with the OMEGA x Swatch logo, and a one of a kind coin, engraved with the 3 letter aviation code from the corresponding city - the same code which will also be engraved on the side of all watches within the suitcase.
Nothing like turning up at the local watch collectors’ meet-up with a golden monocle, right? You should try it. And keep an eye out for the Snoopy MoonSwatch, which is probably dropping
Ok, enough sh*t talk, let’s dig in.
ScrewDownCrown is a reader-supported guide to the world of watch collecting, behavioural psychology, & other first world problems.
Paid subscribers get access to this newsletter when it drops. Free subscribers will receive it two weeks later.
⚠️ NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS:
Some email applications may truncate this post. You can read it all online here or click on “View entire message” at the bottom.
Thanks for reading!
💡 Élégante mais pas entièrement nouveau
The heading is loosely translated as: Elegant, but not entirely new, which I will explain later. For starters, élégante is pronounced EE-LEE-GAUNT. Too often, you’ll hear people saying E-LE-GANTAY… particularly the habibis walking into the London boutique! Now you can correct them.
According to Merriam-Webster, élégante refers to a fashionable woman - which would make sense given François-Paul Journe initially created this watch for women1. He explained this to Cara Barrett in 2015 just after the watch was launched in 2014; Cara asked what the inspiration was for the collection, and he responded:
First it was a request for clients’ wives, who wanted a woman’s watch and not a smaller men’s watch. So that was the first thing. The second thing was a matter of perspective in the history of watchmaking. At first people were like, “F.P. Journe is going to do Quartz?” but quartz is a fantastic invention. The problem you have with quartz is you usually have to hide it because the movement is not pretty and you make it non-luxurious. First, it is a great invention, I think Mr. Breguet in 1800, if he had the opportunity to invent quartz, he would have done so!
F.P. Journe
Not only did Journe see this watch being congruent with the history of watchmaking which he holds dear, but it also represents his take on what he believes quartz to be; “a fantastic invention”. At the time, being a ladies’ watch, there was only one size - the Élégante 40:
As Karim Ojjeh, a friend of François-Paul Journe (also a racing driver and Saudi-Arabian businessman) explains in this video, it was his idea which led to the subsequent creation of the larger Élégante 48 model. It is easy to tell them apart in images, because the larger model has screws around the bezel.
At launch, the cheapest Élégante was around £10k, perhaps just under (?). As of the last price increase, the Élégante 40 is over £15k and the Élégante 48 just under £20k. Pretty incredible for a quartz watch. Also bear in mind, the “1000 pieces per year” number you hear referencing F.P. Journe’s annual production, does not include Élégante production. There are probably a few thousand of these floating around, and yet the supply still can’t seem to keep up with demand. I for one, am not surprised, as I will explain later.
One of the primary innovations in the Élégante is the use of a dual-rotor motor; one for the seconds, and the other for hours/minutes2. Typically, quartz watches have a single motor driving the gears for both seconds, and hours/minutes. The logic behind this design is the reduction of friction by removing gears from the movement, and thus, reducing energy consumption. According to Journe, removing the gears also allowed him to eliminate the need for lubricant, which increased the service interval. That’s handy, because the other innovation in this watch extends the battery life to between 8 and 18 years! Here it is, in action:
Back in 2005, François-Paul Journe called on the services of engineers from the Lausanne EPFL (Swiss Federal institute of technology) to help him bring his idea to life. Journe claims it took 8 years to develop this movement, because this wasn’t a straightforward quartz watch. The watch has a miniscule micro-rotor which is visible at 4:00 via a cut-out in the dial. This is a motion sensor which, when left at rest for 35 minutes, puts the watch in ‘sleep mode’. During this time, electronic timekeeping is taking place, but the hands do not move. Once the rotor moves, the hands are returned to display precisely the correct time, to the second. In a further effort to conserve energy, the hands take the shortest path to reach the correct time, even if this requires them to move backwards as shown in the video.
Something I have never understood, is the claim that this mechanism took 8 years to develop. My first ‘luxury watch’ was this Tag Heuer Kirium F1 CL111A:
When I first saw the élégante in action, I was reminded of this Tag Heuer which came out in the early 2000s. Here’s an excerpt from the user manual:
As you can see, ‘sleep mode’ wasn’t exactly a new concept when Journe launched his watch. The only difference between the Tag and the Journe is, with the Tag, you have to manually ‘activate’ the sleep mode, and when you want to use it again, must push the crown back in for the hands revert to the correct time. Other brands such as Citizen also have similar features. So, Journe was not the first to come up with this concept, but he definitely improved it with the addition of a dual-rotor motor, micro-rotor motion sensor, and shortest-path programming for the hands... But 8 years makes it seem like he wasn’t trying too hard!
Another excellent feature of the Élégante is the luminous dial. It is absolutely incredible, and a feature which never ceases to delight the wearer. It is particularly enjoyable when you go outside on a sunny day, then walk back indoors; charged by the sun, it glows wonderfully inside, even in broad daylight. A watch geek’s dream! The new black dial is a complete downgrade in this department, both because blue lume looks better than green, and because the green lume glows less brightly than the blue lume on the white dial; a shame, but then again, the black dial does look excellent in daylight.
By the way… my Tag Heuer also had this feature, to a degree - but again, it required manual activation:
You’re probably wondering why I am comparing the Tag to the Élégante, but bear with me and I will address this soon. Sticking with the Élégante, let’s talk about some basic specs.
A curious thing about this watch is the naming convention. “48” and “40” in the name, refer to 48mm or 40mm, but this measurement refers to the lug-to-lug dimensions of the patented Flat Tortue® case; not the case width as you’d expect in the specifications of regular watches. This sometimes misleads people, but you need not worry. The 48 model measures 40mm across and is 7.35mm thick, while the 40 model measures 35mm across and is 7.95mm in thick. For reference, the Patek Nautilus is 8.3mm thick… so the Élégante really is beautifully thin… as you’d expect, I suppose, given it doesn’t require space in the case for mechanical moving parts. They also have a screw down crown (yay!) and are stated to be water resistant to 30m. That said, I (and many others I know) have used this in a pool with no issues. I wouldn’t take it diving, but for the most part this is ‘waterproof enough’ for my lifestyle.
I’m not sure there’s much more to add… so let’s move on. (I’m happy to edit this post later, if you catch anything I have missed)
The Élégante: my most-worn watch
You probably guessed it, but the similarities between the Élégante and my own first luxury watch are hard to ignore. This is particularly relevant for me, because I was one of those geeks who frequently used the sleep mode on the Tag Heuer, hoping to preserve the battery life for as long as possible. So… each time I pick up the Journe, I am reminded of the very first valuable watch I owned; and I suppose this sentimental connection creates a bias which cannot be ignored. With the potential bias highlighted, allow me to make a more objective case.
Watchmaking is not a new game, and in that sense F.P. Journe is akin to the new kid on the block in the context of all time greats like Breguet or George Daniels (who F.P. holds in extremely high regard). Still, he’s accomplished so much as a watchmaker, and the brand’s entire annual production is now almost always sold out in advance. Journe’s brand power is not negligible; such intangible value plays a role in one’s enjoyment of a watch even when one can’t or won’t admit it openly. What does this represent?
Well, when you buy a watch from F. P. Journe, you're not just getting a timepiece; at this point it is safe to say you are buying a piece of history, a legacy built on a series of purposeful decisions which have, over the course of nearly 25 years, transformed an unknown French guy into one of the most revered figures in the world of watchmaking. As his slogan states: Invenit et Fecit or, “invented and made” - a testament to his creative and intellectual approach to conceiving watches and making them a reality.
That may sound like “biased hyperbole”, so consider an example. When the Chronomètre Souverain (CS) was launched in 2005, it was, to F.P. Journe, long overdue. In fact, it was the watch he wanted to create since he started the brand in 1999, but at the time, recognised he needed to launch with something more complicated than a time-only piece. So he waited until he had established his brand before creating the CS. And of course, F.P. being F.P., he started with the dial design before thinking about the mechanics.
“First thing, I think of the dial, and then I will break my head to make it work inside.”
Gino Cukrowicz describing F.P. Journe’s approach
After positioning the smaller sub seconds dial, Journe found the most logical location for the power reserve was at 3:00, next to the crown. What made this problematic, was he also wanted the watch to remain in a slim case (unlike what we see today with brands like IWC ruining their watches with super thick cases). The gearing setup for such a layout would mean Journe would need to increase the case thickness to accommodate everything. Instead of doing that, he completely redesigned the mechanism and used ceramic ball bearings to shrink its size from 1.57mm to 0.5mm, maintaining a slim movement thickness of 4.00mm. In other words, he was adamant it was possible to “have his cake and eat it too”. No compromises.
This brings me to my point, which is the Élégante is not just any watch… despite it being priced much lower than all others in the catalogue, it is still an F.P. Journe watch! Based on what I have said above, this is something which should make the wearer proud to have one on the wrist. Yet, this juxtaposes with the fact that it is powered by a quartz movement, given how quartz has negative connotations amongst mechanical watch enthusiasts. Yet again, this isn’t just any quartz - it is one which has been optimised and perfected by F.P. Journe himself.
The result is, wearers get to enjoy an F.P. Journe creation without the typical hassles of mechanical watches such as winding them, or adjusting the time after a while due to the inevitable timing errors which occur with extended use. In fact, this is exactly how F.P. Journe praised it when he said it was suited to ladies… pick it up, and wear it. No thinking required, no winding, or time-setting… just pure enjoyment of the watch.
This is exactly what I experienced when I got it. I was extremely pleased to be wearing an F.P. Journe, and there was nothing more convenient either. I could enjoy it in almost any setting, I could easily change straps to suit any occasion, I found the watch extremely comfortable and light, and despite being relatively cheap, it was still a Journe! Whenever faced with the decision of what watch to wear, this became the easy, minimum-admin choice. The deployant clasp is also thoughtfully designed, and it curves beautifully around the wrist unlike any other I have tried. While the flat tortue case is perhaps not for everyone, I actually enjoy it; particularly the way the lugs drop onto the wrist, which ensures the wearer fully enjoys the benefits of having a super thin case.
There is also an element of personal opinion, in that my own perception of Journe’s status as a watchmaker, and the relative rarity of his watches, makes this watch able to hold its own among much more expensive or complicated watches. It’s like going to a supercar meet-up where everyone else is driving the latest Lamborghinis, Ferraris, McLarens and Porsches… but you turn up with something like Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R34) - it may not be as fast, as expensive, as high-tech or as attractive as any of the other cars that day, but it will still receive roughly the same amount of respect/kudos from fellow car enthusiasts because it is a cool car, despite all the ‘shortcomings’ it may seem to have on paper. Just like… the Élégante!
To conclude, as a happy user of this watch… the lack of any complication or high-end finishing doesn’t feel like it is absent - this watch isn’t trying to compete with any of that haute sh*t - it stands alone, for the user to enjoy with minimal admin and maximum whimsy. Those who know, know… and those who don’t, don’t matter.
Oh, and if you’re looking to buy one, this unique piece is going to be on sale via auction this Saturday March 2nd at 9:30 pm Eastern Time. If you want to participate in the sale, contact eventsmiami@fpjourne.com to register and get more information.
What’s happening with Parmigiani & Vaucher?
Miss Tweed reported the Sandoz Family Foundation, which owns Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier and Parmigiani Fleurier among other watch component suppliers, has decided to put them up for sale. Here I will discuss the subject, and quote from the article linked above. Others in the industry have suggested this news is just another rumour, as you often hear about Patek being put up for sale, but apparently Deloitte has already been appointed as the sell-side advisor so this appears to be more than just a rumour.
The Sandoz Family Foundation is owned by descendants of Edouard Sandoz, co-founder of pharmaceutical group Novartis. Apparently, the younger generation who are in charge, seem to have more of a focus on profitability, compared with the older generation who didn’t care about loss making investments in ‘hobby horse’ pursuits such as watchmaking.
Anyway, it all started with Michel Parmigiani - this is the watchmaker behind Parmigiani Fleurier, who received financial support from the Sandoz family to launch the first collection from his own brand in 1996.
The whole idea with this investment was to create a top-tier watch brand to rival Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet (AP), by enhancing production expertise and securing access to the tools and supply chain required to reach this goal. Of course, they failed, and since then, have carried the costs of all Parmigiani’s losses, debts to suppliers, and apparently lost over a billion Swiss Francs across all watchmaking investments which we will come to shortly.
Still, in pursuit of their goal to create a top-tier brand, they built what is now known as “The Watchmaking Hub”; centered around the Parmigiani Fleurier brand, they are essentially a vertically integrated watchmaking business:
This centre of expertise for industrial craftsmanship encompasses all the skills required to create a timepiece, producing everything from the balance-spring and the train wheel to the case and dial; each link is brought together to form a verticalised, independent manufacture, where unbridled creativity and optimal quality go hand in hand.
The five business divisions in this ‘hub’ are:
Gears etc: Atokalpa – Alle, December 2000
Cases: Les Artisans Boîtiers – La Chaux-de-Fonds, May 2000
Components: Elwin – Moutier, January 2001
Movements: Vaucher Manufacture – Fleurier, 2003
Dials: Quadrance & Habillage – La Chaux-de-Fonds, December 2005
These divisions exist primarily to serve Parmigiani Fleurier, but they also “make their skills and products available to selected high-end watchmakers.”
Of course, the Vaucher Manufacture, is arguably the crown jewel in this portfolio. It was founded in 2003, and supplies mechanical watch movements to brands like Parmigiani (obviously), Hermès, Richard Mille and AP. Hermès has held a 25% stake in Vaucher Manufacture since 2006, and even tried to buy the remaining 75% in the last year, but the Foundation rejected the offer. Hermès relies heavily on Vaucher, and given their continued growth in watch sales, they probably don’t want to see this factory end up in the wrong hands.
The plot thickens when you consider Vaucher is also currently important to Audemars Piguet, but much less so than Hermès, because AP are building a massive new factory of their own which should be ready in the next year or so. So for now, AP still relies on Vaucher, but in the longer term, will probably not buy from Vaucher at all.
“Parmigiani is for sale because it stopped losing money”
One of Miss Tweed’s Sources
That basically sums this whole thing up. Sandoz want to sell the Parmigiani Brand along with the entire hub, and are using recently improved performance (65 million Swiss francs in revenue in 2023 – up from 26 million Swiss francs in 2019) to achieve a decent valuation. There is also the small matter of intellectual property, in that all the IP for movements in Parmigiani Watches, belongs to Vaucher Manufacture!
“This means that whoever buys Parmigiani, is buying a brand without the IP of its movements”
A former watch industry executive who wanted to remain anonymous
I therefore expect AP to make their own movements going forward, and feel Hermès is most likely to buy this hub. Others have suggested the dark horse candidate to acquire the hub is is Breitling - their growth, along with the Universal Genève acquisition, means they could put this additional capacity to good use, and potentially use it to launch a higher-end product line to cater to higher-end customers.
That was ‘the hub’ - but there are a few nuggets which might cause the hub to be split up… and particular companies who have a more specific interest. Atokalpa makes components and some say Patek Phillipe and Chopard are shareholders - but this is unverified. Then there’s Quadrance & Habillage who supposedly supply many other top brands; all of them may be keen on taking this in-house too. Brendan Cunningham posted his wish, which is for Horologer Ming to buy Vaucher Manufacture. Given Ming have been using customers’ money to fund production all these years, they should have a lot of money saved up to do a major acquisition like this. While I don’t think Ming would benefit from such scale for their own watches, I could see them successfully operating Vaucher to primarily produce for other brands, while taking their own movements for Ming watches in-house as well. So really, who the fvck knows.
The Sandoz Family Foundation told me (politely) to fvck off, when I reached out for comment. Was worth a try, I suppose.
Who do you think would buy this, as a whole or even just parts of it?
📌 Links of interest
❤ Starting with something unrelated to watches, as it is the most beautiful thing I have read in a while. Jersey Overseas Aid Director, Simon Boas, writes about his terminal cancer diagnosis - the source of the quote at the beginning.
😦 Is Swatch Group aiming to de-list? Nick Hayek apparently told investors if they don’t like the company or the way it’s managed and governed, they can invest elsewhere… and this article implies that Hayek may be trying to tank the share price so he can take it private at a low valuation. Bernstein analyst Luca Solca also called out the Swatch Group’s unusual governance practices, including the lack of an investor relations function and limited investor access.
“Could there be logic in this madness? The attitude of the Swatch Group’s CEO would make perfect sense if his goal was to take Swatch Group private at some point.”
Luca Solca, Bernstein
🏫 Rolex is launching a second watchmaking school the US, and it is tuition-free! The program lasts 18 months, and starts in September 2024.
🚀 US clinches first touchdown on the moon in 50 years, and on that note, space nuts might enjoy Brendan Cunningham’s New Horological Moonshot.
💹 Tech companies can’t get enough of NVIDIA. Earnings are off the charts. WIRED probes the mind of its CEO, Jensen Huang.
🤓 The decimal point is 150 years older than previously thought.
🧠 Brains Are Not Required When It Comes to Thinking and Solving Problems - Simple Cells Can Do It.
⭐Music historian
wrote about society’s trend towards dopamine culture. Gioia writes that the “platforms are all shifting to scrolling and reeling interfaces where stimuli optimize the dopamine doom loop”.💎 To Make Tiffany & Co. a Household Name, Charles Lewis Tiffany Cashed in on the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Craze.
🖼 A decades-long forgery scheme ensnared Canada’s most famous Indigenous artist, a rock musician turned sleuth and several top museums. Here’s how investigators unraveled the incredible scam.
💰 No one gets every decision right. But that makes it all the more important to avoid missteps wherever possible.
😝 Can any English word be turned into a synonym for “drunk”? Not all, but many can.
☁ Daniel Swain studies extreme floods. And droughts. And wildfires. Then he explains them to the rest of us.
💩 How officials in China hire private-sector hackers to surveil and disrupt societies domestically and abroad, fueling a lively cyber-spying marketplace.
📵 Fighting the smartphone ‘invasion’: the French village that voted to ban scrolling in public.
🤡 For five years, a New York City man managed to live rent-free in a landmark Manhattan hotel by exploiting an obscure local housing law.
♠ No idea why I am sharing this, but I really enjoyed watching this 17 minute video: Process of Making a Hand-Forged Katana. That entire YouTube channel is incredible.
End note
Buffett and Munger: Unrelated to watches, or anything in the newsletter, I wanted to mention Warren Buffett’s 2024 annual letter to shareholders, which rarely disappoints… This one was not only amusing, but also included this wonderful tribute to Charlie Munger, which I feel compelled to share in full (emphasis added by Buffett himself):
Charlie Munger died on November 28, just 33 days before his 100th birthday.
Though born and raised in Omaha, he spent 80% of his life domiciled elsewhere. Consequently, it was not until 1959 when he was 35 that I first met him. In 1962, he decided that he should take up money management.
Three years later he told me – correctly! – that I had made a dumb decision in buying control of Berkshire. But, he assured me, since I had already made the move, he would tell me how to correct my mistake.
In what I next relate, bear in mind that Charlie and his family did not have a dime invested in the small investing partnership that I was then managing and whose money I had used for the Berkshire purchase. Moreover, neither of us expected that Charlie would ever own a share of Berkshire stock.
Nevertheless, Charlie, in 1965, promptly advised me: “Warren, forget about ever buying another company like Berkshire. But now that you control Berkshire, add to it wonderful businesses purchased at fair prices and give up buying fair businesses at wonderful prices. In other words, abandon everything you learned from your hero, Ben Graham. It works but only when practiced at small scale.” With much back-sliding I subsequently followed his instructions.
Many years later, Charlie became my partner in running Berkshire and, repeatedly, jerked me back to sanity when my old habits surfaced. Until his death, he continued in this role and together we, along with those who early on invested with us, ended up far better off than Charlie and I had ever dreamed possible.
In reality, Charlie was the “architect” of the present Berkshire, and I acted as the “general contractor” to carry out the day-by-day construction of his vision.
Charlie never sought to take credit for his role as creator but instead let me take the bows and receive the accolades. In a way his relationship with me was part older brother, part loving father. Even when he knew he was right, he gave me the reins, and when I blundered he never –never –reminded me of my mistake.
In the physical world, great buildings are linked to their architect while those who had poured the concrete or installed the windows are soon forgotten. Berkshire has become a great company. Though I have long been in charge of the construction crew; Charlie should forever be credited with being the architect.
What an interesting tribute to a partner and friend. Notice how Buffett calls out only two of Charlie’s personal traits: 1) Charlie let him have the spotlight, and 2) Charlie never said “I told you so.” He then goes on to basically credit Charlie with creating the whole business … something which Buffett has become famous for doing. May we all be so lucky to have such a profoundly positive impact on others’ lives, with such humility. Here’s an old post of mine covering Charlie Munger, which goes into more detail about the man.
Greubel Forsey (GF): Recently, I seem to have encountered several collectors who are wondering what changes are afoot at GF. Unsurprising, I suppose; given their website is a nightmare to navigate! Let’s talk about what we know so far.
As recently as 2019, GF employed about 100 people and produced just under 100 watches, with an average price of 500k CHF each. At the end of 2023, they produced close to 250 watches, with an average price of 250k CHF each, while employing around 150 people3. In 2022, Robert Greubel (President and majority shareholder), along with Stephen Forsey (Technical Director) and Antonio Calce (CEO), bought back 20% of the company owned by Richemont. In 2023, they announced a plan to invest 20m CHF in a new facility which is more than double the original size; construction is starting in April, and they hope to have everything done by the end of 2026. Calce hopes to produce around 500 watches per year.
The brand produces most of its parts in-house already, but once the new facility is completed, Calce says they will make balance wheels and cases in-house too. They are also planning to open between 12 and 15 flagship stores operated by retail partners, replacing the 24 multi-brand stores which currently carry the brand.
“Before, every retailer sold one watch per year, or one every two years, because that was all we could deliver. That is not a sustainable business.”
Antonio Calce
According to NYT, “the founders have stepped back from the business’s operations, but the creative team has continued to develop what the brand calls “fundamental inventions” - apparently, this was the team which developed the 8th Invention: Tourbillon Cardan and the same team which is working on the 9th Invention: A convex-case constant force Chronographe Flyback Monopoussoir - get this: with a 37.5mm case diameter!
They are also working on the Hand Made 2 and Hand Made 3; the former will be a Balancier releasing in 2024, the latter a chronograph with gear trains made of gold, releasing in 2026… both made entirely by hand! I also read something about the Courve Greubel Forsey, a new balance spiral to increase timekeeping precision that the brand hopes to introduce this year4.
Next year, they plan to release the 10th Invention: A constant force chronograph with two balance springs; one which is solely dedicated to the equal differential chronograph to compensate for loss in amplitude when using the chronograph. Then in 2027, they plan to launch the quadruple split chronograph with a triple split function and double nano-foudroyante.
Part of what allowed all this new development to happen, was the decision to close up shop at CompliTime - as you can see via the link, this was a little outsourcing arm of GF which made watches for other brands including Richard Mille and Harry Winston. With this service terminated, they freed up human resources to focus on GF exclusively.
Most people are worried about GF’s quality dropping, if they increase production so drastically, but from what I can tell, this is not really going to happen. Time will tell, but at least for now, the quality has remained a key focus of all the plans. They even put forward ‘five pillars’ which encompass the creation of each watch: 1) invention and innovation, 2) hand crafting and finishing, 3) precision and reliability, 4) architecture (no traditional dials) and design, 5) rarity and exclusivity (all new movements will be retired after 5 years).
I think the only thing which ought to be concerning, if you want to be, is how hands-off Mr. Greubel and Mr. Forsey appear to be; but then, when you see how the team is still pumping out innovative and well-finished watches, perhaps this isn’t a problem at all? I mean, looking above, you will notice how many new watches are being launched this year and in the next couple of years… and that’s just what they have shared publicly. Having visited the factory myself, they have like 20+ people working in R&D alone, so I am sure they are cooking up more Willy Wonka style horological marvels. This is aspirational stuff anyway, most people will never buy one of these things, but its nice to know what many consider to be the pinnacle of independents, doesn’t appear to be going to sh*t as some will have you believe. Again, lets see what the future holds, and if it the tides turn, I’ll be the first to scream “Bloody Murder!”
Until next time,
F
🔮Bonus link: Updatelessness doesn't solve most problems
I will throw a fair coin.
If it lands Heads, you will be able to freely choose whether to pay me $100 (and if so, you will receive nothing in return).
If it lands Tails, I will check whether you paid me the $100 in the Heads world, and if so, I will pay you $1000.
An updateless agent would use a decision procedure that doesn’t update on how the coin lands. And thus, even if it found itself in the Heads world, it would acknowledge its previous credences gave equal weight to both worlds, and so pay up (without needing to have pre-committed to do so), because this was better from the perspective of the prior.
You’re probably asking yourself, “What is Updatelessness?” Well, fear not, because that is answered in this post, along with a discussion around decision theory and why this matters when thinking about superintelligence. Appreciate this won’t be interesting to many, but I found this post gave rise to all sorts of ideas in my head, and have no doubt at least some of you will enjoy the mental gymnastics!
Believe it or not, that “❤️ Like” button is a big deal – it serves as a proxy to new visitors of this publication’s value. If you enjoyed this post, please let others know. Thanks for reading!
Speaking to a subscriber last week, he mentioned he heard rumours about F.P. Journe being dismissive of female collectors… and I think this point entirely contradicts the rumours.
Journe has described this as being “two engines” in interviews, but the website states it is a dual-rotor motor, rather than two separate motors. I tried to ask someone at Journe, but he ignored my call and didn’t return it. (Fvck you SM! 😂)
May be more.
They claim this will be a revolutionary development because most of the watch industry has used the same curve since Abraham-Louis Breguet invented it in 1795. I don’t know if anyone would care, but there you go.
That's a lot of words trying to justify buying a ladies quartz piece bro! 😂
Jokes aside, I love quartz in it's own way and several pieces I have form a signature part of my collection. I also see it as an important horological evolution that shouldn't just be relegated to cheap watches. Although, I think the lower price does offer a great entry-point into many brands which should not be underestimated as valuable to brands and watchmaking as a whole; we all started our journeys with quartz!
High end quartz can be used to achieve thinness and accuracy or features nearly impossible through mechanical means. As you touched on already, convenience and lack of servicing needs is another significant benefit. They can be made and finished to a high standard too with premium materials if brands commit.
Especially for grand complications such as perpetual calendar chronos or rattrapantes, where thinness is often extremely hard to achieve, there are some unique opportunities.
Mechaquartz is something I hope watchmakers will embrace again as well at a higher level, such as the JLC and F.Piguet mechaquartz pieces developed in the late 80s/90s. Some of which even featured fine hand finishing and were used by JLC, IWC, Breitling, Omega, Chopard and others including even Daniel Roth. These brands embraced the innovation and benefits to create more elegant fine watches and entry-points to the brand. The Elegante is arguably a kind of hybrid/mechaquartz as well, marrying mechanical components with electronic ones.
Some notes on the Elegante you left out: the Tortue shape comes from the Vagabondage series, which in turn was developed for Cartier but they never proceeded with the concept so Journe embraced the case for his own pieces.
While the application of a dual-motor design helps keep it maintenance free, it seems mostly driven by the desire to have a subdial (as he starts with dial design); most quartz with subdials such as chronographs or calendars feature multiple motors to achieve this.
I think more serious collectors are starting to appreciate quartz for it's unique benefits and even history as seen by interest and value of Beta 21 and early Oysterquartz watches, and now the Elegante will surely remain a classic collectible as well!
Visited AP last year...the new facility is massive. Wish I could post a picture here, but it looks out of place in that little village. Thanks again, enjoyed it and look forward to getting to the links later.