François-Paul Journe.
was born in Marseille in March 1957. In 1976 he graduated from the Paris Ecole d'Horlogerie, and two years later he began working in an antique watch restoration workshop in Paris. Journe's first workshop was in the rue de Verneuil in Paris. Among his exceptional early creations are: a tourbillon pocket watch in 1978; a planetary pocket watch in 1985; an automatic chronometer pocket watch in 1986; a "sympathique" clock for the House of Asprey in London. In 2000, Journe established the workshop of his brand in Geneva, and in 2003 the Japanese branch of "Montres Journe" was opened. François-Paul Journe has received many distinctions for his work, among them, the prize of the Fondation de la Vocation Bleustein-Blanchet in 1987; the "Balancier d'or" at the Madrid Watchmakers' Convention in 1989; the Gaia "Watchmaker of the Year" award from the Musée de l'Homme et du Temps, in 1994; the special "Grand Prix de l'horlogerie de Genève" prize of the jury in 2002; the "Grand Prix d'horlogerie de Genève" for men's watches in 2003; the "Gold Hand" Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix in 2004; and the prize for the watch of the year in Japan in 2005. In 2006, he was made "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Minister of Culture; that same year he received the Grand Prix l'Aiguille d'Or for his "Sonnerie Souveraine" watch.