(Prudent Press Agency)---The portfolio of the F.P. Journe watch manufacturer consists of some of the most refined and ingenious watches available worldwide including the Chronometre Souverain, the Octa Automatique Lune and Octa Calendrier and of course, the iconic Chronometre a Resonance, its mechanical movement featuring two escapements which influence and stabilize each other.

Francois-Paul Journe was born in Provence, South of France in 1957 and his destiny was to become one of the most talented and accomplished master watchmakers of modern times. His remarkable career began when his parents enrolled him in the Ecole d'Hologerie in Marseille under the leadership of his cousin who was a programme leader at the school.

Family connections would further progress his place in the industry in the form of his Uncle Michel Journe who having noticed the promising talents his young nephew was beginning to display suggested he enrol with the prestigious Ecole d'Horlogerie in Paris.

Michel Journe had a watchmaking business in Paris, and no ordinary workshop - he specialised in the maintenance of Frances's most important horologic collections, including the state collection, and it was into this revered world that the young M. Journe entered into employment when he completed his formal education in 1976.

There can be no doubt that working on these historical pieces for the following eight years had a profound effect on the young watchmaker because when he began to create his own first timepiece, it was the "Old Masters" such as Abraham-Louis Breguet from whom he took inspiration.

Initially F.P. Journe produced only one-off creations, but this was enough to gain the attention of informed collectors, and in 1985 he founded his own Parisian workshop. With a reputable talent for creating and indeed the refinement of grande complications using century-old skills, F.P. Journe soon gained commissions from prestigious Swiss watch brands for mechanical watch movements.

In 1991 F.P. Journe created his first wristwatch (having previously created highly complicated pocket watches) the Souveraine Tourbillon - a flagship piece for the company to this day, and if perfection can be improved, still being developed and refined. However the industry would have to wait five more years before, finally, an F.P. Journe collection would be unveiled at the showcase event at Basel in 1998 with the legendary brand philosophy "Invenit et Fecit" (Invented and Created).

Acclaim and awards have followed as the brand became an established marque. In 2001 the Octa Calibre, the company's first automatic wristwatch movement was also a world first, its 120 hour power reserve capable of powering the watch for five days since last being worn.

The highest honour in the watch industry is the "Grand Prix dHorologie Geneve" Aiguille d'Or or the "Golden Hand" which can quite simply seal the world-wide reputation of the receiving brand. Such an accolade is perhaps viewed as the ultimate achievement, one which cannot be equalled yet the F.P. Journe company has been the recipient of this award three times, in 2004, 2006 and 2008. Such repeated acknowledgement of the skills and ingenuity of the F.P. Journe manufacture must surely demonstrate the watchmaker's personal drive for pushing established boundaries and presenting ever more breathtaking horologic achievements.