At first glance, it’s just another elegant dress watch with a plain time only dial. But the FP Journe Chronometre Bleu is a timepiece that you must come up close and personal with to really appreciate.
Earlier watches came in a long rectangular coffin box but now come in the more familiar cuboid wooden box. A part of me wonders if collectors might seek the earlier boxes one day.

Sized at 39mm, the polished tantalum case is finished and weighted perfectly, and is just 8.6mm tall, making it supremely wearable under your cuffs. The strap that comes with the watch is pliable and comfortable straight out of the box and needs none of the seasoning that many others need to stop cutting into your wrist. If I had to find a flaw, it would have to be that the classic rope crown of Journe watches is a tad small, but is still a very tactile wind.

The lacquered blue dial is flawless in my watch, and in every other Chronobleu I have handled and is contrasted beautifully by the light cream hands that adorn the dial. I have a special fondness for the raised printed numerals in typical Journe font.

The real magic happens when you do a wrist roll, and the dial shimmers and changes shades of blue like a kaleidoscope. This lets you appreciate the depth of the lacquer, and it feels as if you were staring into a bottomless blue pond. The depressed seconds subdial comes alive too, seemingly rotating as the light hits its engraved surface from different angles.

Turn the FP Journe Chronometre Bleu around and a rose gold movement that is finished in classic Journe style is on show. While I may prefer early Journe brass movements for their collectibility, modern rose gold movements offer a better aesthetic and much greater value. This 22 jewel cal. 1304 offers you plates, bridges and wheels with anglage, guilloche and Geneva striping, all coming together for a visual treat.