Something new for Fall...

[JCZ5]

Started a thread a couple of weeks ago
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=500463

This is the result:

My love for watches started back in 2013 when I first picked up my Rolex Submariner. I thought this would be my one watch for the rest of my life. After all, why would anyone need more than one watch…

Little did I know I would be catapulted into this hobby, unable to escape its gravitational pull.

As I continue to be a novice student in this world of horology, I can’t help but take a deep dive into the artisan craft of watchmaking. The giants of Philippe Dufour, Kari Voutilainen and Roger Smith demonstrated how watchmakers of yesteryear honed their art into mechanical marvels. Max Busser said it best, in today’s world; the time can be found all around us. There is no need for a mechanical timepiece that is a 100X more inaccurate and a 1000X more expensive. As my journey continues, I realized these mechanical marvels are more about the art than telling the time.

That is when FP Journe came into the picture. I took on a mild interest back in 2015 and I reached out to thejourneguy (I mean who else other than him) asking him about FP Journe. At that time, I was wary to stray far from the established brands, like Rolex. But I always admired FP Journe and the Chronometre Bleu.

My hesitancy was gradually worn down by seeing on instagram and other outlets the beauty of the Bleu. I visited Swiss Fine Timing on various occasions while in Chicago and was only able to see the Souverain. Of which, I superimposed my imagination of the Bleu in hopes for me to get a taste of what it is like. Also, around this time, there was a serious drought of the Bleu, production was backed up and the long waiting lists made it a fleeting dream.

Fast forward a year or two…more conversations with thejournguy and the urge to own one reached an all time high. Not to mention, how the bleu prices have soared.

I reached out to Daniel at Swiss Fine Timing and a deal was quickly struck. TheJourneGuy gave rave reviews and I definitely agree. Daniel is a true watch guy with an enormous amount of FP Journe knowledge. His service was exceptional and definitely went above and beyond. In the end, I am one happy customer. If anyone is in Chicago, Swiss Fine Timing is a must visit, be sure to speak with Daniel!

Back to Max Busser and his comment regarding art. The Bleu is truly a piece of art that tells time. No other watch on the market combines a polished tantalum case with an incredibly difficult blue dial. Along with a movement made out of solid rose gold and finished to haute horology standards. I will not bore you with the details as it has been discussed many times. By the way, there seems to be a new box that comes with the Bleu, much better IMO.

Special thanks to thejourneguy, cwin, langenthusiast and a_zhangerator for enabling me.

Best,
John
IG: jzhang5

[mps354]

excellent choice, congrats!

[themast]

Congratulations, the CB is a wonderful watch. I can relate to your story... Once you start researching and learning there is so much out there....

Enjoy in good health.

[Maxtor]

Stunning watch. Congrats.

[vman]

Yeah baby!

[adamlea]

Congrats!

Lots of great references from the independents, which include my 2 favorites: FPJ and Laurent Ferrier. Suffice it to say, I share your enthusiasm for FPJ. I've read good things about SFT in Chicago as well.

If you don't mind me asking, what was it that tipped the balance in favor of FPJ in general and the CB in particular?

[JCZ5]

Originally Posted by adamlea

Congrats!



Lots of great references from the independents, which include my 2 favorites: FPJ and Laurent Ferrier. Suffice it to say, I share your enthusiasm for FPJ. I've read good things about SFT in Chicago as well.



If you don't mind me asking, what was it that tipped the balance in favor of FPJ in general and the CB in particular?

When searching for my next watch, I knew I wanted an independent. However, with any independent, there was always the fear of their longevity. Will the brand be around in 20 years? Well, FPJ's success, expansion and following has been growing stronger ever year. So it gave me the confidence to entry the brand. And the icing on the cake, in the world of haute horological, it is also "relatively" affordable. FPJ is generally lumped in with the greats as mentioned in my original post.

As for why I chose the CB. I truly wanted a watch that was unique. If you saw my previous thread, I was torn between the CB or CS. But in the white dial category, I knew others that I would like to acquire. But IMHO, this is the best blue dial watch currently on the market!

Additionally, even though tantalum is not as rare as PM. The polished tantalum takes extraordinarily long time to produce and it relates back to my search of great craftsmanship. The dial also takes true art and is the most difficult dial to produce in his entire portfolio. All that adds to the unique factor that cannot be found in any other watch.

Hope that helps!


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[jjnd08]

Congrats!


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[Snow-Dweller]

Many congratulations.

[FeelingTheBlues]

Great choice, you went with my favorite in your poll. Congratulations and enjoy it.

[1William]

Congratulations

[JCZ5]

Originally Posted by mps354

excellent choice, congrats!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by themast

Congratulations, the CB is a wonderful watch. I can relate to your story... Once you start researching and learning there is so much out there....

Enjoy in good health.

It's a whole new world out there and this is just the gateway

Originally Posted by Maxtor

Stunning watch. Congrats.

Originally Posted by vman

Yeah baby!

Originally Posted by jjnd08

Congrats!


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Thank you!

Originally Posted by Snow-Dweller

Many congratulations.

Appreciate it!

Originally Posted by FeelingTheBlues

Great choice, you went with my favorite in your poll. Congratulations and enjoy it.

So much better in person!

Originally Posted by 1William

Congratulations

Thank you!



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[lapince]

Congrats it's a cool watch, would love to see it IRL, but love it in pics.
Can't say it's the best blue dial on the market, but it is clearly one of the best, my favorite being the blue Vingt-8 on Voutilainen's website, which is the basis for the unique piece Vingt-8 I ordered from him, and of course the 5711, 5712 from PP, as well as other blue dial PP, the many blue dials in the AP catalog and a few others are the best IMO.



The best blue dial IMO

[JCZ5]

Originally Posted by lapince

Congrats it's a cool watch, would love to see it IRL, but love it in pics.

Can't say it's the best blue dial on the market, but it is clearly one of the best, my favorite being the blue Vingt-8 on Voutilainen's website, which is the basis for the unique piece Vingt-8 I ordered from him, and of course the 5711, 5712 from PP, as well as other blue dial PP, the many blue dials in the AP catalog and a few others are the best IMO.



Attachment 795242



The best blue dial IMO

Congrats on the Vingt-8!

Good thing different brands make different blue dials to satisfy all maybe I should have prefaced by saying it's my favorite blue dial


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[lapince]

Originally Posted by JCZ5

Congrats on the Vingt-8!

Good thing different brands make different blue dials to satisfy all maybe I should have prefaced by saying it's my favorite blue dial


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Thanks, it will be ready in a few months, what I find very cool with the CB is the movement, FPJ movements are really amazing, aesthetically better than Voutilainen IMO, though I think the Vingt-8 movement in ruthenium with Cote de Geneve stripes should be something, the FPJ movements like that are just stunning, I got the idea for the movement from FPJ pics...




These two pics in fact

[subtona]

Great choice. Congrats.

[brandrea]

Well done, it's a beauty

[JCZ5]

Originally Posted by subtona

Great choice. Congrats.

Thank you subtona! Always love your input on the forums!

Originally Posted by brandrea

Well done, it's a beauty

Thank you sir!



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[droptopman]

Great story and a beautiful watch.

[cervantes]

Congrats. Wonderful watch!

[capote]

Congrats on the Chronometre Bleu! I'm curious to see it in real life, it seems to have many different shades of blue.

[JCZ5]

Originally Posted by droptopman

Great story and a beautiful watch.

Much appreciated!

Originally Posted by cervantes

Congrats. Wonderful watch!

Thank you it sure is!

Originally Posted by capote

Congrats on the Chronometre Bleu! I'm curious to see it in real life, it seems to have many different shades of blue.

Oh absolutely! I'm still surprised by its lively changes. My favorite is during indirect sunlight when it shows a rich dark blue.



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[lapince]

This thread made me want to look at FPJ pieces, didn't know this one existed, very nice but I think I prefer the normal version of the CB.

http://www.chrono24.com/en/fpjourne/...-id4232002.htm

[JCZ5]

Originally Posted by lapince

These two pics in fact

Is that a special edition resonance? I didn't know ruthenium movements were made in series, but it would be amazing if it did. Wow, you're Vingt-8 is going to look seriously incredible with that! Thanks for posting this photo, I'm seriously obsessing over ruthenium now

Originally Posted by lapince

This thread made me want to look at FPJ pieces, didn't know this one existed, very nice but I think I prefer the normal version of the CB.



http://www.chrono24.com/en/fpjourne/...-id4232002.htm

Yep, part of their boutique only editions I believe. Not sure where you are from, but Govberg in Philly is selling one too. I actually inquired about it before ultimately switching to the bleu.

Oh I can surely enable you closer to a FPJ. The more I learn about the process and history, the more I fall in love with it. Hopefully you have an AD or boutique close by .



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[lapince]

Not sure if it is a special edition but I love the way it looks, I saw pics of the Vingt-8 movement in ruthenium, and thought it looked great, but didn't have Geneva stripes, he is ok to do it with the stripes, so it should look very cool.

I am from France, but live in Odessa Ukraine, should try to go to a FPJ boutique one day, my watch budget is dry following a few watches and especially the Voutilainen, who knows one day maybe, but I would have to flip something and for the moment I really want to keep all my watches.

As I said it's nice but prefer the normal CB, you made the right choice

[lapince]

Here is the vingt-8 ruthenium movement, also if you want to check out the thread I started about it here it is http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=497630

[Hairdude1]

Major congrats, Daniel is a great guy. I bought my 44 RG AP from him

[JCZ5]

Originally Posted by Hairdude1

Major congrats, Daniel is a great guy. I bought my 44 RG AP from him

Thank you! You have a great collection and that 5070 is something else!


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[sea-dweller]

Congrats!