What is Happening with F.P.Journe Auction Prices?

Watchonista first noticed some mildly unexpected auction results from F.P.Journe during a Sotheby’s Hong Kong Important Watches auction in October of last year. What caught our attention was a 2023-era titanium F.P. Journe Élégante Titalyt that went for a hammer price of about $82,000, which was significantly over its $76,000 high estimate.

Given the high prices that F.P.Journe timepieces have commanded for several years, this hammer price from last October may not seem all that unusual, but it is, especially when you remember that the Élégante, first introduced for ladies in 2014 at about $13,000, is a quartz timepiece
 

Of course, from an innovation perspective, the Élégante is a true marvel, falling squarely within the watchmaker’s envelope-pushing mythos by putting the watch to “sleep” (i.e., stopping time) when you take it off and then, as if by magic, jumping to the current time when you put it back on. Still, it was a pretty impressive estimate-beating result for a quartz watch, regardless of how elevated it is.

Results for this year’s auction season not only continued apace for the maker but, in fact, picked up pace, with the most recent culmination being the staggering $13.92 million hammer price for a circa-2000 F.P.Journe Chronomètre à Résonace “Souscription, No. 007” timepiece that carried a high estimate of “in excess of $1,000,000” at the Phillips Watches New York Auction: XIV just last week.
 

This result set an all-time auction high for the watchmaker, any independent watch brand, and any 21st-century watch ever offered at a public auction (and was technically the fifth most expensive watch ever sold).

What is one to make of all this?

Luckily, at Watchonista, we know some people, so we approached our collector-verse with a particular familiarity and interest in F.P.Journe for some anonymous insights that may go a long way towards understanding the current situation, and deciding how to proceed.

“What we are seeing is that the early creations of F.P.Journe, such as the Subscription pieces, watches with brass movements, and models in the smaller 38mm case size, have been the primary drivers of the recent stratospheric auction results,” a collector told us. “As rising tides lift all boats, virtually every F.P.Journe model has benefited from the surge in demand, including the quartz Élégante. Still, production volumes have remained relatively constant, while obtaining an allocation from an F.P.Journe boutique has become increasingly difficult, even for existing clients.
 

“These developments may signal that they have undoubtedly become an alternative investment class for wealthy collectors. At the same time, global stock markets have been running high, creating more wealth and increasing demand for rare collectible assets as a means of diversification. Inevitably, speculators have also joined the fray, further fueling the momentum,” this collector concluded.

When approached for an opinion about how to gauge taking an F.P.Journe timepiece to auction, we got this feedback: “This is a complicated topic. First, many F.P.Journe owners still hope to acquire new pieces from the boutiques. Selling a watch that remains in the current catalog could result in being blacklisted by the brand, making it much more difficult to obtain future allocations. This is a major factor encouraging collectors to hold on to their prized possessions.
 

“Second, some collectors sold their Journe pieces over the last few years, only to watch them continue to appreciate dramatically in the secondary market. At least three collector friends of mine have told me that they regret selling too early. Having learned that lesson, many are now holding onto their remaining pieces.

“Of course, some collectors believe the market can go even higher and may prefer to keep their watches rather than realize gains today. The key question is whether the pool of demand will continue to grow fast enough to absorb any increase in supply,” that comment concluded.
 

In looking at the more recent auction results, the “top” of this surge may still be on the horizon. We received this insight during our reach-out: “I personally believe the prices of rare F.P.Journe pieces will remain relatively stable, or even continue to rise steadily, provided there is no major economic downturn or geopolitical shock.

“A more intriguing question is what will happen to the secondary market when Mr. Journe eventually retires? The conventional wisdom is that prices will rise even further, as no new watches developed by the master himself will enter the market.
 

“However, there is another factor to consider: Many collectors will be tempted to hold onto their watches because they want to remain in the good graces of the boutiques and maintain access to future allocations.

“Still, if a meaningful number of collectors decide to sell at the same time, the increase in supply could create significant downward pressure on prices,” this in-the-know collector said.

To learn more about the brand, check out the F.P.Journe website.