The Story of the Vagabondage
The story of the Vagabondage starts in 1995, before Francois-Paul Journe established his own manufacture, when he was approached by a French watch collector, who asked him to create a wandering hours watch. Since this would require the development of a new movement, which was time-consuming and expensive, M. Journe asked the client if he would be open to doing the watch as a series, rather than a one-off pièce unique.
The client was agreeable, and a rather large brand, rumoured to be Cartier, was approached. Unfortunately, the brand in question pulled their interest from the project as soon as the first prototype was completed. Some years later, ahead of their 30th-anniversary charity auction, Antiquorum approached M. Journe, asking him to create a special watch to be auctioned off at their anniversary sale. As M. Journe himself recounts,
“It was then that I felt that this was the right time to bring my watch with the vagabond hours out from my drawer and give it to the world. Thus, was born the Vagabondage.”
Three tortue-shaped, jumping-time Vagabondage watches were created for the auction, in red, white and yellow gold. Upon an enthusiastic public reception of the pieces, M. Journe decided to produce a small batch of sixty-nine Vagabondage I watches, first released in 2004.
The Vagabondage I, II and III
The Vagabondage I is a jumping hour watch, featuring an unusual display. A white window, printed on a transparent disk, highlights the correct hours on a black disk, which displays the hours in F.P. Journe’s signature font. Both disks travel around the dial, pointing the minute on a classical track on the periphery. The result is simple and legible, yet technically challenging. Prominent in the middle of the dial is the regulating organ, which oscillates at a rate of 21,600 A/h.
The Vagabondage II, introduced in 2010, is a progression on this initial approach, using jumping minutes in addition to the digital jumping hours display. François-Paul Journe created a watch with jumping indications, both for the minutes and the hours, with the help of three independent discs. In addition, the Vagabondage II featured a small second sub-dial and a power reserve. The ‘smoked’ sapphire dial is faintly tinted, optimising legibility and allowing the mechanics of the movement to be exposed.
Introduced in 2017, the Vagabondage III is the third and last in Journe’s series of Vagabondage watches. It was the first ever wristwatch to feature a jumping digital seconds indication. The design features F. P Journe’s one-minute remontoire d'égalité system in the movement gear train, managing the energy needed to rotate the jumping disks. As a result, the Vagabondage III is not only the most visually exposed of the series, but also the most technically challenging to accomplish. The disk on the right (which jumps every second), drives the disk on the left, jumping every 10 seconds. Overall, the two jumping seconds make for a visually dynamic experience - changing constantly.
The Vagabondage I is housed in a svelte, 42 x 34 mm ‘tortue’ case, made distinctive by its unconventional shape and elegant profile - measuring 7.2mm in thickness - and vertically-brushed, flat bezel. The Vagabondage II and III share the same case proportions, albeit in a slightly larger size, measuring 45.2 x 37.6mm in span and 7.84 mm in thickness.
The Set
Sets such as these, assembled by collectors, rarely appear on the market, especially with two out of the three pieces unworn. The set is accompanied by three Luxembourg grey Saffiano straps, as well as the original F.P. Journe straps and three platinum deployante buckles.
It is also accompanied by a Certificate of Warranty for the Vagabondage II from May 2011 and for the Vaganbondage III from May 2018 and a Certificate of Authenticity for the Vagabondage I. The set is housed in a custom-made box, made exclusively for collectors who assembled the triptych Vagabondage sets.
A Collected Man is delighted to be able to offer a rare opportunity to acquire this truly iconic, collectors’ set.
Viewings can be arranged in Central London by appointment.
