Élégante by F.P. Journe Titalyt: All Eyes On Me

“Towering genius distains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored”, former American President Abraham Lincoln once said. A statement that fits perfectly on F.P. Journe and his watchmaking craftmanship, made of extraordinary creations often developed running unexplored paths. As in the case of the Élégante by F.P.Journe, crafted in the Titalyt ® version after being launched in 2016 as the women’s watch of the brand that slapped the banality of electronics.

A metaphorical slap for the admirers of the Marseille genius as well. A non-mechanical watch, from the guru of fine micromechanics? Yes, exactly like that, even if the electromechanical manufacture caliber 1210, developed after eight years of research, is far from a banal quartz movement.

Thanks to a specific microprocessor and a patented double rotor, the movement optimizes energy when the watch is not worn and the mechanical parts stop after the timepiece has remained motionless for 35 minutes – the watch switches to standby mode to save energy and its hands stop, while the processor continues to mark time, recovering it at the restart of the timepiece. The motion detector, visible on the dial at 4:30, activates when the watch moves again and it sets itself automatically to the correct time, with the hands taking the shortest path, whether clockwise or counter-clockwise. A magic that guarantees the watch over eight years of autonomy when in use and 18 in stand-by.

The New Titalyt Case

A magic which pleases not only women but also men: in its most recent version the Élégante by F.P.Journedressed in a new case size which, in addition to 40×35 mm one, offers a generous 48×40 mm variant, both in grade 5 titanium with the exclusive Titalyt treatment. The procedure, in which Titanium is subjected to electro-plasma oxidation, improves the material’s hardness and resistance to wear and corrosion. This new version, recognizable due to its unique colour, gives the watch a unique look. Élégante, ça va sans dire…

Elegance during the day, with a white mother-of-pearl dial, and elegance by night – in the dark, the luminescent dial of the Titanium version offers optimal legibility while the hands indicate the time as in a shadow play.

The cheerful and disengaged spirit of the Élégante by F.P.Journe is pointed out by the choice of the rubber strap, whose ergonomic shape perfectly embraces the wrist. The first Journe’s rubber strap comes it in a variety of colors, both bold and light: grey, burgundy, orange, yellow, white, deep blue, midnight blue, khaki green and anthracite.

The uniqueness or this timepiece has bewitched one of the gurus of the watchmaking world – Aurel Bacs, Watch Senior Consultant at Phillips and auctioneer of the most important watchmaking sales. In an interview he stated that he was bewitched by the Élégante by F.P.Journe because of the «the genius watch movement invented by my good friend François-Paul Journe», also pushing into a real endorsement: «I’m delighted to recommend this watch to all watch enthusiasts who, like me, want a watch that fulfills their passion but who want to know what it feels like to be rational – maybe for the first time». What more could you ask for? (Price € 12.000)

By Davide Passoni