F.P. Journe - The Geneva Watch Auction: XVI Geneva Saturday, November 5, 2022 | Phillips

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVI

Geneva Auction 5 - 6 November 2022

  • Manufacturer: F.P. Journe
    Year: 2011
    Case No: 47/68
    Model Name: Vagabondage II
    Material: 18k pink gold
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 1509, 31 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: 18k pink gold FP Journe deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 45.2 Length and 37.5 mm Width
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by F.P. Journe Authenticity Certificate confirming production in 2011, fitted box and outer packaging.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The story of Journe’s Vagabondage series is an unusual one. It starts off in the 1990s when a watch brand contacted the young François-Paul, who had not yet launched his eponymous brand, for a wandering hour wristwatch. The project never came to fruition, but Journe kept the idea and in 2004 created three unique jump hour watches in a very elegant “tortue” case shape (yellow, pink and white gold) to be sold at auction for charity. He followed up with a limited edition of 69 pieces in platinum that sold out rapidly and even more impressively from word of mouth as the watch was never publicized.

    Released in 2010, the Vagabondage II was F.P. Journe’s second timepiece featuring a tortue-shaped case and made in an ultra-limited edition of 69 pieces in platinum, 68 in pink gold of which the present model is number 47 and 10 pieces in platinum with baguette diamonds.

    Vagabondage in French makes reference to "errance", or roaming - a very fitting name for a digital display. The hours are indicated via a window on the top part of the dial, minutes are indicated via two discs and subseconds are classically placed at 6 o’clock. A power reserve indicator sits atop all the time telling indications.

    Interestingly and quite unusually no brand name is mentioned on the dial but a cavalcade of details display the brand’s unmistakable genetic codes. The watch houses the in-house caliber 1509, a form movement, in pink gold, fitting perfectly into the case, beautifully finished, and features a constant force device that ensures that the energy from the mainspring is equally distributed with no loss each time the discs jump.

    Part of an ultra-limited number of 68 pieces, the Vagabondage II is certainly a rare and unorthodox timepiece befitting he collector of the extraordinary.

  • Artist Biography

    F.P. Journe

    Swiss • 1999

    Founded by watchmaker François-Paul Journe in 1999, the F.P. Journe brand is relatively young, but already is as highly regarded by collectors as many distinguished manufacturers with centuries-old heritage. In the minds of the world's savviest collectors, Journe is producing some of the finest wristwatches the market has ever seen. Mastering his craft from restoring historical timepieces, he was the first to create a wristwatch incorporating two escapements that benefit from the phenomenon of resonance — the Chronomètre à Résonance.

    Key models include the Résonance, tourbillon wristwatches incorporating a remontoir and the limited edition Vagabondage series. Especially sought-after are his earliest "souscription" watches, made in 1999.

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F.P. Journe

A very attractive pink gold jump hour wristwatch with remontoire, number 47 of a limited edition of 68 pieces

2011
45.2 Length and 37.5 mm Width
Case, dial, movement and clasp signed

Estimate
CHF120,000 - 240,000 
€124,000-247,000
$120,000-240,000

Sold for CHF302,400

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East
+41 22 317 81 81
AGhotbi@phillips.com
 

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva
+41 22 317 96 63
TiffanyTo@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVI

Geneva Auction 5 - 6 November 2022