This niche watch hobby-turned-career (I still can't believe I do this for a living! ) has given me the opportunity to handle quite a few watches from a whole bunch of brands in all sorts of price ranges. Early in my journey, it was easy to fall in love with almost any new watch sent my way because everything was still so fresh and exciting. Oh, how naive young Brandon once was (and probably still is – it ain't been that long). However , with time, my view taste buds developed just a tad, or at least enough to say with confidence that the F. P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu is officially my favorite enjoy that I've ever had the chance to spend a week on the wrist with (so far, at least).
The Chronomètre Bleu is the product of one of the most famous independent watchmakers in the world, Mr. François-Paul Journe. It's actually the brand's entry-level see - if you exclude the quartz-equipped Elegante - priced at $37, 400 retail (and considerably higher on the secondary market). Did your heart skip a beat? Don't worry, mine did too and I already knew the price. Even at this "entry-level" price point, the watch is extremely difficult to purchase at its retail price. In fact , a lot of pieces from Farrenheit. P. Journe are hard to get because the independent brand produces less than 1, 000 watches per year and out of that batch only a small portion are Chronomètre Bleus, and, of course , there is quite a high demand for almost any watch from F. P. Journe.

Despite the watch's scarcity, I really think the Chronomètre Bleu is worth the chase if your bank account can handle this. The mirror-like chrome blue dial is absolutely mesmerizing, the actual tantalum (a metal with a similar weight as platinum, but more resistant to corrosion as well as wear) case at 39mm and only 8. 3mm thick sits on my wrist like a dream, and the 18k rose gold in-house movement is one of the most finely finished works of art I've ever seen through a sapphire crystal caseback. The watch isn't as well dressy, but you could still easily wear it with a tuxedo. It's not the gaudy design nor is that too complex; it's not another hyped-up sports watch.