World Tour Recap: Jack Forster Reports From Dubai

The WatchBox “World Tour” has a more formal name, which is the Retrospective Exhibition: Two Decades Of De Bethune And <a href="../watches/f-p--journe/">F. P. Journe</a>, but more precisely, it’s of the most, if not the most, comprehensive single exhibition of watches by F. P. Journe, and by De Bethune and its co-founder, watchmaker Denis Flageollet, to ever come down the pike.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1166515 size-full" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DSC04142.jpeg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="F.P. Journe & De Bethune" width="1200" height="865" />
It’s difficult to overstate the impact of the two collections. In several decades of looking at, thinking about, and writing about watches, I’ve never seen anything even remotely approaching the scope of the Retrospective and I suspect no one else has either — the range and diversity of watches on display is something you have to see (and we hope you will) to believe.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1166517 size-full" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DB28_Kind_of_Gold_Journe_Tourbillon_Souverain_Vertical.jpeg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="F.P. Journe & De Bethune" width="1200" height="800" />
All this took place over three days in February in Dubai, which is today one of the world capitals for both watch trading, and for watch enthusiasts in general. While there, those of us traveling from the US, along with the WatchBox Dubai team and marketing director Sara Barakat and general manager Luca Bozzano, were able to meet collectors and enthusiasts from the UAE, the Middle East, and around the world, all drawn together by a shared interest in fine watchmaking in general, and the two star brands of the exhibition in general.
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The pieces in the Exhibition were chosen by Watchbox for both inherent collector interest, but also for their ability, taken collectively, to illustrate in concrete form the history of both brands.
On the F.P. Journe side we had everything from contemporary pieces to watches from the birth of the company itself, including what for many was the talking point of the show: No. 18/20 of the Souscription series of tourbillons.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1166525 size-full" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Journe_Tourbillon_Evolution_Group_Shot_T30_Tourb_Souv_Vertical-1.jpeg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="F.P. Journe" width="1200" height="800" />
Journe collectors and enthusiasts will remember that the Souscription watches were created by François Paul in order to raise capital to fund the production of his first series of watches and they are among the rarest and most desirable. No. 18/20 is a significant watch, to put it mildly. The Souscription watches were originally produced by F. P. Journe as a way of raising capital for the purchase of his workshop in Geneva. The arrangement was straightforward. Interested prospective owners would be invited to put down a 50% deposit, with the rest payable upon delivery, and as an additional incentive, anyone purchasing one of the watches on a subscription basis would be offered a discount from the retail price.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1166522 size-full" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DSC05044.jpeg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="WatchBox 20 Year Retrospective Exhibition" width="1200" height="801" />
Virtually every major model from F. P. Journe, as well as a comprehensive survey of all major complications, were represented in the exhibition, from early brass movement timepieces, to sports models from the LineSport Collections, to more recent explorations of the boundaries of technical watchmaking.
Not to be outdone, De Bethune also showed watches from across its entire history, showing off the remarkable diversity in both technical watchmaking, and design, which has characterized the brand for over two decades. Every De Bethune watch shown had its own distinctive attributes and merits, and on the contemporary side, one of the most interesting and most talked-about watches was the Kind Of Two GMT. “Kind Of Two” in this case refers to the reversible case, consisting of a round, round-sided inner case suspended in between articulated lugs, on two pivots along the horizontal axis of the watch.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1166516 size-full" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DB.jpeg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="De Bethune Kind Of Two GMT" width="1200" height="1499" />
This is a double faced, dual time zone watch. On one side is a somewhat conventionally organized dial but if that’s the first side of the watch you see, your first clue that you are looking at a very unconventional watch (aside from the unusual case construction) is the seconds hand, which moves in one second jumps, like a quartz watch. This is the jumping seconds complication, which is relatively rare in modern watchmaking (here there’s a connection with F. P. Journe, whose Tourbillon Souverain watches famously have a jumping seconds complication, built off the one-second remontoir).
Turn the watch around (the crown is at either six or twelve o’clock, which further reinforces the pocket watch connection) and you get a very, very different watch altogether. The other side of the watch features an open dial, semi-skeletonized movement whose basic architecture is classic De Bethune: A delta-shaped central bridge, with the two mainspring barrels supporting a four-day power reserve visible in the upper part of the movement, the wheel for the jumping seconds complication in the center, and the balance framed in an aperture at six o’clock. The time in a second time zone is shown by a peripherally driven minute hand circling the outer circumference of the dial, and the hours are read off a hand circling the aperture for the balance.
<div id="attachment_1166520" style="width: 1210px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1166520" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1166520 size-full" src="https://watchbox-blog.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DSC04610.jpeg?max-w=1024&q=50&auto=format,compress&usm=10&usmrad=3" alt="WatchBox 20 Year Retrospective Exhibition" width="1200" height="800" />De Bethune President Pierre Jacques, with guests</div>
We were joined by visitors from across the region, and also by three of Dubai’s most important watch clubs. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dubaiwatchclub/">Dubai Watch Club</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/arabwatchguide/">Arab Watch Guide</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ewc.ae/">Emirates Watch Club</a> were hosted by WatchBox Dubai on three successive nights and their members underscored the strength and diversity of UAE and larger Arab watch community, in both the number and range of watches shared with us and fellow members.
The scope of the World Tour is difficult to overstate. Nearly 40 De Bethune watches, and almost 80 F. P. Journe timepieces, were on hand for visitors to examine in person and in hand, and the excitement on each of the three full days of the show was really electric — to see that many timepieces from either manufacturer is such a rare event as to make the Retrospective Exhibition essentially unique. We’ll be bringing the Exhibition to New York and Los Angeles for the final leg of the World Tour (New York March 9-11, and Los Angeles, March 16-18).
To request a private appointment to view the horological experience of a lifetime, contact WatchBox at <a href="mailto:worldtour@thewatchbox.com">worldtour@thewatchbox.com</a>.

De Bethune F.P. Journe

Written By

Jack Forster

WatchBox Global Editorial Director Jack Forster has been fascinated by every aspect of watches, clocks, and watchmaking for his entire life. He began systematically studying and learning about watches over 20 years ago, and during the first explosion of watch enthusiast forums, he became a moderator on thepurists.com. Jack became a full-time watch writer in 2007, when he joined Revolution Magazine, first as group technical and features editor, and then as editor in chief of Revolution Magazine USA. He joined the enthusiast website Hodinkee in 2015 as managing editor and then as Editor in Chief. In 2022, Jack joined WatchBox as the Global Editorial Director. He is the author of Cartier Time Art: Mechanics of Passion, and has written about watches, and other subjects, for many other venues including CNN, American Express Departures, and Vanity Fair.

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