Results for Journe Octa

Early Passion, Long Journey: The search for a 1994 Lange 1

A Flipper’s Journey

Since the article on my 50th birthday watch was published, I have been asked multiple times how I got into flipping watches. To best understand this, you must better understand me. I am an only child of a mother who was the youngest of 10 children and a father who was the youngest of 4. Both were born in the depression (1935 and 1929) and lived through WWII with siblings having fought in that war.  My mother’s family was from Quebec City, and they lived in a rural area outside the city, with very little creature comforts. My father was from Montreal and fared a little better, having grown up in a middle-class family setting. However, times were hard, and both learned how to stretch a dollar and loathed excessive spending.  I on the other hand grew up in Montreal in a comfortable middle-class neighborhood. While we never really struggled for anything, I was still brought up as if we could not afford much. So, if I wanted something, I had to get creative. I quickly realized that if I wanted a toy that I did not have, I could trade something I did have to get what I wanted. I did this with Star Wars toys, GI Joe, Transformers and later on with comic books and Atari games.  The author, with an unknown gift and watch on wrist, Christmas 1978 I remember when Walkman portable cassette players were super popular, my mother managed to finagle one using her Club Z points from Zellers. This was the equivalent of K-Mart in Canada and Club Z was the original loyalty plan. It was s...

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

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.

In Conversation: Rory McIlroy On Watches, Omega, His Journey In Golf, And The Upcoming 2020 PGA Championship (VIDEO)

From prodigy to professional, Rory gives us the inside scoop, and then some.

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

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 a turquoise-dial Day-Date, and Casemiro is the surprise of the bunch with an F.P. Journe. Every wrist worth talking about 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...

Furlan Marri Went Full Meteorite Dial on This Affordable Chronograph

The Furlan Marri Meteorite Octa features a Muonionalusta meteorite dial, 38mm case, and Seiko VK64 movement. Available for pre-order now.

Introducing: Furlan Marri's Awesome Mechaquartz Chronograph Returns With A Meteorite Twist

The new "Meteorite Octa" isn't a part of the brand's permanent collection, so you've only got a few days to decide if you love it. And I think you just might.

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.