Auction F.P. Journe FFC Prototype Hits 10.8 Million Dollars at Phillips

F.P. Journe is celebrated for complications that defy convention, crafted with a deeply artisanal approach and produced in exceptionally small numbers each year. This philosophy has nurtured a devoted community of collectors who value Journe’s unparalleled command of mechanics and design. It also opened the door to an extraordinary collaboration with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, culminating in one of the most imaginative timepieces ever created by the maison.

Born from this partnership, the FFC Prototype quickly became the star attraction of Phillips’ New York Watch Auction XIII. Coppola co-designed the piece alongside François-Paul Journe, merging cinematic imagination with haute horlogerie. The result is a mechanical sculpture that has now entered auction history, achieving USD 10.8 million (approximately AED 39.7 million). This record makes it the most expensive F.P. Journe ever sold and the highest result for a watch by an independent maker in the United States since Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona fetched USD 17.75 million in 2017.

The watch is housed in a stainless steel case that highlights its technical spirit, complemented by a skeletonized dial that exposes the choreography of its mechanics. A black-treated titanium hand indicates the hours through its distinctive movement, while a clean minute track provides clarity around the display.

At the heart of the watch is the Octa 1300.3 automatic caliber, an in-house movement fitted with a remontoir d’égalité to deliver constant force and heightened precision. Only two examples exist: one reserved by François-Paul Journe and the other created exclusively for Francis Ford Coppola.

Before the sale, the watch carried an estimate of USD 1 million (approximately AED 3,673,000). Eleven minutes of intense bidding from an anonymous phone participant propelled the final price to ten times the estimate, securing the FFC Prototype’s place among the most significant horological milestones of recent years.

For more information, visit Phillips Auction’s official website.