Housed in a 39mm case, this early Chronomtre Bleu is one of very few watches to be produced in the rare, dark-grey metal, tantalum. Seldom used in watchmaking due to its difficulty to work with, tantalum is highly resistant to both corrosion and wear.

It is understood that this watch was one of the first 10 made within the Chronomtre series, and this particular piece is 007, a number made famous by the fictional British spy James Bond. Notoriously, with some of Journes earlier pieces, the serial numbers found on the watches are not released in chronological order. However, in this case, it is believed that this was within the first 10 watches to have been produced by the manufacture, as by the time it went into production, the manufacture became more structured. Sold in the first year that it was made, the watch has never been worn before, and has never been opened until it was serviced recently by the manufacture.

Named after the mythological figure, Tantalus, this name of this metal also has roots in the word "tantalising", as the story goes that Tantalus was forced to stand knee-deep in water, while delicious-looking fruit grew above his head. A dark greyish-blue in colour, tantalum is a rare, lustrous precious metal. Rarely used in watchmaking due to its difficulty to work with, it is highly resistant to both corrosion and wear. It's also non-allergenic, and so perfectly suited to be worn on any wrist. The polished dial of this Chronomtre Bleu is an uncommon feature, displaying a shade of sky-blue that complements the restrained colour of tantalum. Combined, these blue overtones give the watch its name.

The in-house calibre 1304 is made entirely of 18-carat rose-gold, and seen through the sapphire caseback. The movement has two mainspring barrels in parallel, which work together, powering the movement. Most impressively, is the chronometric balance fitted into the movement, which helps to provide the accuracy that F.P. Journe has based his watchmaking around. The hand finishing is expertly conducted, mixing Ctes de Genve, circular graining and barleycorn guilloch. All screw heads are polished and all edges neatly chamfered.

Closer look

This F.P. Journe Chronomtre Bleu is in practically NOS condition, having only been worn on a handful of occasions by the original owner. As such, the case remained unopened from new, before its recent service by F.P. Journe in 2020. The case is remarkably well preserved.

The watch comes with F.P. Journes servicing documentation and Certificate of Authenticity, as well as a two-year warranty and lifetime guarantee of authenticity from A Collected Man.