Francis Ford Coppola’s F.P. Journe Prototype Achieves 10.75 Million Dollars at Auction
The recent Phillips New York Watch Auction XIII, held on 6 and 7 December, delivered one of the most notable auction results in the contemporary watch market. The headline of the weekend was the sale of Francis Ford Coppola’s F.P. Journe FFC prototype, which realised 10.755 million dollars including buyer’s premium. This result sets a new all time record for any F.P. Journe watch sold at auction and establishes the highest price ever paid for a timepiece created by an independent watchmaker.
The prototype is one of only two examples configured in this manner. The other is understood to be destined for the F.P. Journe museum, which is currently being developed as a long term archive of the brand’s most significant creations. The combination of provenance, rarity and conceptual importance made the Coppola FFC one of the most anticipated lots of the season.
Source: www.hodinkee.com
A Rapid Battle for a Unique Watch
Bidding opened at one million dollars. The early stages of the contest unfolded quickly, with telephone bidders pushing the figure to three million and then five million dollars in short succession. Activity slowed once the bidding crossed seven million, leaving four determined participants in contention. Two of them progressed to the final exchanges. The decisive moment came when a well known collector, Alex Ghotbi, re entered the contest with an offer of 8.7 million dollars. The winning hammer price ultimately stood at nine million dollars, which, with premium applied, produced the record total of 10.755 million.
Source: www.hodinkee.com
A Prototype Outside the Usual F.P. Journe Canon
What distinguishes the FFC prototype from other F.P. Journe creations is its origin. It is the only watch from the manufacture whose conceptual design did not originate with François Paul Journe himself. Although the creative spark was external, the watch was entirely built by Journe, ensuring that the execution maintains the technical and aesthetic standards associated with the brand.
The model is housed in a 42 millimetre platinum case that carries an aesthetic often described as bordering on steampunk. Its defining complication is an automaton style hour display in which a mechanical hand indicates the time. The hand extends and folds its fingers in specific combinations to signal each hour. The idea was inspired by one of the earliest functioning prosthetic hands, created during the sixteenth century. This mechanism gives the FFC a sculptural quality rarely seen in contemporary horology and explains why the prototype holds such significance within the independent watchmaking landscape.
Source: www.hodinkee.com
A Strong Market for F.P. Journe
The results at Phillips reinforce a broader trend. F.P. Journe watches have shown a dramatic increase in auction performance over recent years. The record achieved in New York surpasses the brand’s previous benchmark set in Geneva last year, when only the second watch ever made by François Paul Journe was sold for 8.3 million dollars. The momentum demonstrates an escalating appreciation of the watchmaker’s technical vision and the growing scarcity of early or unusual pieces.
The New York sale included additional works from Journe’s oeuvre. Another watch belonging to Francis Ford Coppola, a Chronomètre à Résonance, achieved 584,200 dollars. The sale also featured a significant example from the earliest period of Journe’s independent career, the Chronomètre à Résonance Souscription No. 17. Produced in 2000 as part of a series of twenty subscription watches offered to clients who funded the first Tourbillon Souverain, it remains one of the most historically important variants of the model. With an estimate of 600,000 to 1,200,000 dollars, it exceeded expectations and reached 2,843,000 dollars.
