F.P. Journe unveils his first-ever classic chronograph, headed to a Singapore charity auction

Francois-Paul Journe and Prince Albert II of Monaco unveiled the watchmaker's first-ever classic chronograph last week at the Riva Aquarama Lounge of the Yacht Club de Monaco. The unique piece, called the Chronographe Foundation Prince Albert II of Monaco, will be auctioned by Phillips in Singapore on Nov. 25, with every franc raised going to the prince's climate foundation.

The watch is a 42mm two-tone case in platinum and 18-karat rose gold, with a burgundy lacquered dial. Its numerals draw on oracle bone script, one of the earliest known forms of Chinese writing, alongside a tachymeter scale in whitened silver and grey sapphire counters ringed in titanium.

The caseback carries the engraving "Fondation Albert II - 2026", marking the foundation's twentieth anniversary. Journe explained the timing in characteristically blunt terms: "Because it is a unique piece, therefore with a unique movement, and because I wanted to." He added that his Marseille roots tie him to the Mediterranean the foundation works to protect.

Why this watch is a first for Journe

Journe has never before produced what the trade calls a classic chronograph, despite building watches since 1999. Thomas Perazzi, Phillips' head of watches in Asia, said Journe's earlier elapsed-time pieces used more complicated, non-traditional movements. "This is the first time that Journe has decided to celebrate such an iconic complication," Perazzi said.

Perazzi puts the estimate at more than 1 million Swiss francs, roughly $1.23 million, and says he has already fielded a wave of interest. "Since the announcement, we have received many requests from important collectors to participate in the auction," he said, adding that Phillips expects "some fireworks in Singapore in November."

F.P. Journe's charity-auction track record

F.P. Journe, the Geneva independent maker known for its handbuilt movements and cult following among serious collectors, has repeatedly used charity sales to set its own market records rather than dent them. Its Only Watch entries over the past decade have been anything but marginal to that record.

In 2015, a Tourbillon Souverain Blue in tantalum sold at Only Watch for 550,000 Swiss francs, about $547,000, four times the price of the standard platinum version. Two years later, a Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante Bleu brought 1,150,000 Swiss francs, roughly $1.17 million, an auction record for the brand at the time.

That record fell again in 2021, when the FFC Blue sold at Only Watch for 4,500,000 Swiss francs, about $4.9 million. Last December, Phillips sold the FFC prototype owned by director Francis Ford Coppola for $10.75 million, and in June a Chronometre a Resonance Souscription No. 007 brought $13.92 million at the same house.

A forthcoming report from EveryWatch on the F.P. Journe secondary market describes a market that appreciated steadily from 2015 to 2020, then rose 200 to 500% between 2020 and 2022 for certain references, including brass-era pieces and the Vagabondage series.

The same report says the 2022 to 2023 luxury watch correction hit Journe references more mildly than mainstream names like Rolex and Audemars Piguet, and that most had fully recovered their value by 2025 and continued climbing since. Only Watch itself has run as a biennial charity sale of unique pieces from top makers since 2005.

We track exactly this kind of record in our roundup of the world's most expensive watches, where an F.P. Journe Chronometre a Resonance sold for $13.9 million in New York this June, the highest price ever paid for an independent watchmaker's work at auction.

That same guide notes a steel Patek Philippe Ref. 1518 reaching $17.6 million at Phillips Geneva in November 2025, and Graff Diamonds valuing The Hallucination at $55 million, though that bracelet has never actually been sold at that price.

What the foundation does with the proceeds

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation works on mitigating climate change and promoting renewable energy, preserving biodiversity, and managing water resources, with programs spanning the Mediterranean basin, the polar regions and underdeveloped nations. All proceeds from the November sale go directly to that work.

The auction takes place at Phillips' "Voyage Extraordinaire" gala dinner at Raffles Sentosa Singapore on Nov. 25, timed to the foundation's twentieth anniversary. Perazzi has declined to speculate publicly on how far bidding might climb past the estimate, but the brand's recent results suggest the ceiling is not fixed.