François-Paul Journe: Invenit et Fecit was the inscription that 18th Century French horologers engraved on their pocket watches, once their movements were recognized as original and recorded by the Royal Academy of Sciences. Since I only use new calibres of my own invention, I decided to use this Latin phrase that clearly indicates the origin of my movements. Still, I don't pretend to be a 'manufacture'. Moreover, there is not a single veritable and complete 'manufacture' in Switzerland. But, at least Invenit et Fecit offers a clear indication in a world that is becoming more and more confused by the definition of what is an original movement.

Europa Star: Then Invenit et Fecit signifies that if your movements are entirely original, you nevertheless can purchase certain component parts from sub-contractors?

FPJ: I will explain precisely what we make and how we make it. But first I would like to speak of the famous 'verticalization' that we hear about all the time. If I am not verticalized, and I don't pretend to be, it is for some very good reasons. First, the small series that I create make it impossible, from a monetary standpoint, to have a complete equipment set-up that would be in operation for only a few weeks a year. That would oblige me to work for others and I have no intention of becoming a sub-contractor myself. I have other things to do. Secondly, having parts made by ultra-sophisticated specialists obliges them to do better than we can do ourselves. Our suppliers need to outdo themselves. All these minuscule and very precise parts are difficult to make, so to succeed, you must concentrate on only them. This means having a series of different suppliers. Therefore, I made the decision to work with a network of highly specialized sub-contractors that can meet our very strict requirements. This leaves the 17 trained watchmakers that I employ to fully practice their trade and assemble the movements, our movements, which are completely original, in their conception as in their design of each of the smallest parts.

ES: It seems then that upstream your activities involve design and technical specifications, while downstream, you are concerned with the movements and their assembly?

FPJ: As I said recently to an F1 driver who visited us, “We work like at Ferrari before there is Fiat.” Let me explain how I proceed. It is very simple and pragmatic. I always begin by putting my ideas down on paper, alone. Then, I put them into the computer and draw the dial…

ES: You begin with the dial?

FPJ: Does that surprise you? But, yes, that is where everything is born. I want to find the equilibrium of the watch. I put on the hour and minute hands, then the functions that I want to integrate into the piece. I look at the general harmony, since, like for myself, the dial is the direct expression of the 'contents' of the watch. This harmony is immediately stylistic and technical. It is not about making it 'pretty', but rather about finding what the watch wants to say and how it wants to say it. There is no inside or outside. There is only one expression, which is the watch itself.

ES: So, it is only afterwards that you move to the 'motor'?

FPJ: Once the equilibrium of the dial has been reached, I then delve into the movement. At this stage, I work the mechanics point by point, always in two dimensions. When this long operation is finished, I transmit the drawings to the technical bureau where everything is redesigned in three dimensions. After a transition phase, during which we make a number of simulations, readjustments and any necessary fine tuning, we continue to the technical design phase. Here we design everything, absolutely everything. The smallest screw, the smallest drill hole, the smallest gear are all designed by us… everything, everything that goes together to make up the movement. It is at this point that we call upon the sub-contractors that we mentioned earlier.

ES: Now that you have detailed your procedures, what happens next?

FPJ: When the first series of parts are made, I personally assemble them. It is always myself who assembles the first watches of a series. I make them work and I study them. I generally make changes that are then conveyed to the sub-contractors. I again personally assemble a pre-series of 3 or 4 watches with the modifications. These steps may be greater depending on the difficulties that we meet. It is only after the last adjustments are made that I give the work to the watchmakers. With my associates, we create what I call the 'working assembly procedure' In fact, it is a manual that shows the watchmakers in precise detail the process to follow, step by step, part by part, stage by stage, in the same way that I have done several times before. This is not a dry technical document but a bible of images that includes all my personal recommendations for each of the component parts. It is the Fecit part of the company's slogan.

ES: What I find especially remarkable in your watchmaking is that each watch is the direct expression of what is inside. The result is a very particular style that is not artificial since it is an integral part of the watch itself. This design seems directly linked to the classic epoch of grand French watchmaking, yet it remains profoundly original and contempor-ary. Its style marks our epoch. Moreover, between us, it has been a 'source of inspiration' for many other brands…

FPJ: This is the reason that I presented a watch with hands at the centre this year! To show people that, contrary to what they believed, everything did not depend on my particular method of dividing the dial into two zones. (Laughs) I wanted to demonstrate that it is the complete spirit that counts. It is a special soul, a 'language' that the watch communicates, a thought and a global construction that gives it its identity. However, in fact, I always have made and remade the same watch. I can really affirm that I knew from the beginning everything that I was going to do. Look at this document. (He gets up and removes a frame from the wall.) It is a paper tablecloth from a bistro on which, in 1994, I drew everything that I was going to do in watchmaking and showed it to my friends. Look at it closely. Everything is there, you agree. Here is the Resonance. There is the Octa, the Power Reserve, the Calendar… The idea is there, the developments are there.

ES: But that took time…

FPJ: In 1991, I displayed my first tourbillon, entirely made by my own hands, at the stand of the Academy of Independent Horological Creators (AHCI) at the Basel Fair. It never took off, so I wore it on my own wrist. Little by little, I realized how nice it really was. Then one day a waitress in a large Parisian bistro fell head over heals in love with my watch. That was a turning point for me. I decided to start again. I settled in Geneva and began working for others, while designing and studying on my own. I attacked the tourbillon again but this time with the intention of creating a sort of semi-industrialization that would permit small series to be produced. All the parts had to be interchangeable. I went to see Anton Bally [Editor's note: President of ETA of the Swatch Group, heading up the production of balance springs] who helped me by introducing me to Nivarox, which agreed to make balance springs to my own specifications. I could then start on my own project.

ES: How did you finance your first production?

FPJ: I have one unwavering principle that I stand by. I spend only what I have. This operation has been completely auto-financing. I took in subscriptions for my watch and the first 20 subscribers allowed me to start production.

ES: And then there was the adventure of the Resonance model… You went back to ideas that you had already explored, without knowing if it would work, for a pocket watch…

FPJ: … that did not work! I was alone. When I asked George Daniels [Editor's note: great English watchmaker, inventor of the coaxial escapement, among other devices, which is currently used by Omega] his opinion, he laconically replied, “You are very courageous!” It had never been miniaturized. I embarked on the project and the day that I succeeded in making it work correctly for 24 hours, I knew I had won. If it worked for 24 hours, there was no reason for it not to work all the time. In 2000, I delivered the first timepieces.

ES: The Octa line that would follow allowed you to enter a new phase, which coincided with a gradual move towards the consumer public. You clearly moved from an offer targeting collectors to a more wearable type of watchmaking, one that is more 'civilized' as you like to say...

FPJ: The Octa designs had been ready for a while, but to start production of a new complete automatic movement, capable of integrating successively a power reserve indicator, chronograph, date, and lunar phases, was unthinkable for a series of 100 pieces. The interchangeability of component parts and the enormous tooling required made a simple automatic watch more costly than a tourbillon.

ES: An additional financial step…

FPJ: Thanks to my previous work and its success, I had saved enough money to begin a major investment for a series of at least 1000 pieces. In 1999, I created my own company with two friends. One was in distribution and retail and the other was in the technical side of the business. We started with 1 million Swiss francs of our own money. We grew to 7 or 8 people, then gradually to the number we have now.

ES: Did the Octa permit you to reach a larger public than you intended?

FPJ: Absolutely. The 'pure' collectors represent perhaps 35% to 40% of our clientele. The model with the centre hands introduced this year after consultation with my retailers will open new possibilities for us. That is obvious. The readability of the dial is better, even if the watch is smaller. With the Octa Divine, we have created a new line in our collections. I notice that people are copying me. Well! I've been advised to take them to court, but I said to myself, if I am forced to sue them, it means that I am incapable of inventing. But so that they know, the last word has not been said.

ES: Therefore everything is not written on the tablecloth…?

FPJ: But why not have other dinners, other discussions with friends, other tablecloths to write on…