Entry Level: The Chronomètre Souverain Havana Is A Solid-Gold Starting Point Into The World Of F.P. Journe (2024)

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In Entry Level, we consider the least expensive watches from high-end watchmakers. They're still not cheap, but hey — every brand has to start somewhere.

I recently had a conversation with an experienced watch collector about the high prices we're witnessing at auction for watches produced by Cartier London in the 1960s. His opinion surprised me.

It was "about time" that legitimately rare, interesting watches performed that way, he told me. He expressed that we're just now starting to see certain watches reflect their potential true value – a Cartier London Crash, with maybe a few dozen examples known to exist, is one such watch. He finished by saying that anyone fortunate enough to purchase a Crash before the current spike in value received a "gift" –in other words, this collector doesn't think the Crash will, ahem, crash anytime soon.

I think this collector's reasoning is applicable to understanding the primary and secondary market surrounding F.P. Journe watches, as well. Journe's timepieces have soared in value on the secondary market; when a special or unique example crosses the auction rostrum, jaw-dropping prices will follow. No other living watchmaker, outside Philippe Dufour, has stirred as much global interest in the production of high-end independent watchmaking as Journe. It's incredible to see such a sustained level of attention. It has been accompanied, however, by the furrowed brows of more than a few longtime watch lovers and collectors who now see themselves as being priced out by speculators.

Journe, the brand, went ahead and announced a fairly significant price increase to start 2022 –something that has become a bit of a trend in the new year. With the updated price list fresh in my mind, as well as an updated mode of thinking from my collector friend, I've realized that it's about time we reevaluate what the best possible "entry-point" into the current F.P. Journe catalog is – and in my opinion, the Chronomètre Souverain Havana deserves a closer look.

But first, let's review what the Chronomètre Souverain Havana is decisively not.

If I wrote this article at any point from 2009 to 2021, I'd be talking about the Chronomètre Bleu. It was famously developed by F.P. Journe to act specifically as an "entry-level" timepiece after the 2008 financial crisis limited the audience and appetite for luxury watchmaking. Instead of precious metal, the case was built of tantalum and the movement was slightly less complicated than the standard Chronomètre Souverain (no power reserve in the Bleu). It also featured a remarkable iridescent blue dial that's well-known for having a high failure rate and had a price tag that was originally set under $20,000.

Things change. As Journe grew in prominence and interest in watches increased more generally throughout the 2010s, the Chronomètre Bleu became arguably the most sought-after F.P. Journe watch in the world. According to Osama Sendi, the collector and enthusiast behind The Journe Guy, annual production of the Chronomètre Bleu remained around 190 watches until 2019, when it dropped to approximately 100 examples. (Keep in mind, F.P. Journe has never produced more than 1,000 watches per year.)

High interest and low production has resulted in a swollen secondary market; the Chronomètre Bleu has consistently traded for plus or minus six figures for the last 12 months. As part of the 2022 price increase, F.P. Journe officially increased the MSRP of the Chronomètre Bleu to $37,400 –a substantial increase that better reflects the demand behind the watch, as well as the labor and time commitment required for its production.

The other commonly cited entry-point into F.P. Journe is the Élégante, the company's very-cool quartz watch that was unexpectedly introduced in 2014 and has since (again, unexpectedly) soared in demand and value, particularly over the last two years.

Don't miss our interview with F.P. Journe himself, after the Élégante debuted in 2014.

Secondary market resource Chrono24 recently went so far as to label the F.P. Journe Élégante 48 as one of its "Top Five Investment Watches Of 2022", citing consistent sales over $50,000. When it was first introduced, the Élégante started around $13,000. With the 2022 price increase, the collection now begins at $14,500 for the Élégante 40 and $16,700 for the Élégante 48 – that is, if you can find an example at retail.

Think about it – can you come up with another example of a contemporary quartz watch that is not only priced in five figures but also increases in value multiple times over once it hits the secondary market? The only comparable examples I can think of in the quartz realm are certain vintage Rolex Oysterquartz examples that have flirted with the six-figure range.

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Yes, the Chronomètre Bleu and the Élégante collection both technically have lower list prices than the Chronomètre Souverain Havana. But after the recent price jump for the Bleu, the Souverain Havana now only represents a $2,600 premium for a precious metal case compared to the tantalum used on the Bleu.

The Élégante, in my opinion, also isn't quite comparable with the Chronomètre Souverain, given the electro-mechanical movement inside. I appreciate the Élégante for what it is, and I would love to own one, but I don't think many people are cross-shopping a Chronomètre Souverain and an Élégante –plus, given the latter's recent, well-publicized difficulties staying in stock, I think the Chronomètre Souverain is a better fit for the current "Entry Level" title at F.P. Journe.

Don't get me wrong –this is still a ton of money we're talking about. And I'm not going to sit here and promise you that the Chronomètre Souverain Havana will be easier to find at its list price than the Chronomètre Bleu or an Élégante, though it theoretically should be.

What I do know is that the Chronomètre Souverain is one hell of a watch that deserves more attention. It won the Men's Watch Prize in 2005, the year it was first released, and is widely considered to be the simplest and arguably the most direct interpretation of what F.P. Journe holds dear as a watchmaker; so much so that Journe gifted his mentor, the legendary watchmaker George Daniels, with a platinum example in 2010.

The Chronomètre Souverain is a three-hand watch with small seconds, a power reserve display, and a manually wound movement that's been engineered to optimize chronometric performance. The Havana edition, meanwhile, was introduced as a production model in 2017 and is just about the most low-key take on a solid-gold watch I can imagine.

The case is 6N gold, but so is the light-brown dial that's crafted by F.P. Journe's in-house dialmaker, Les Cadraniers de Genève, by blending gold and ruthenium to achieve the tobacco-brown hue. Inside the Chronomètre Souverain, as with every Journe wristwatch produced since 2004, the bridges and mainplate of the manually wound caliber 1304 are crafted from 18k rose gold. Without being flashy or over-the-top in any capacity, the Chronomètre Souverain Havana features gold everywhere you look – the case, the dial, and the movement.

I wanted to write about Journe in our "Entry Level" column for a few reasons, and I promise none were to frustrate you by describing a nearly $40,000+ solid gold wristwatch with low-volume production as "Entry Level." The goal of this column is to identify a point-of-entry into a specific brand and to demonstrate that you don't always have to opt for the most popular or most expensive to experience the best a watchmaker has to offer.

It makes me think back to the collector I mentioned earlier, who sees the high prices Cartier is now achieving at auction as a long-anticipated market correction that reflects the true value of those watches. That doesn't mean the Chronomètre Bleu isn't worth the six-figure price tag some vendors are asking for it – I just believe those secondary-market prices will gradually find stability, and it might be over $100,000, or it might not.

No matter the future, the facts remain the same right now. F.P. Journe is a living legend who remains active as the face of his company. He's worked for 40 years (literally, he introduced his first pocket watch in 1982), fine-tuning his vision of watchmaking. I don't think it's surprising that his authentic approach is finally being rewarded, even if it means my personal ability to purchase one becomes further and further away with each passing day.

But for my money – right here, right now – I believe the best buy you can make on a current-production F.P. Journe is the Chronomètre Souverain Havana in 6N gold, on a leather strap, for $39,600.

All photos, Tiffany Wade

You can learn more about F.P. Journe online.

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