F.P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu Byblos Ref. CB Byblos

The F.P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu Byblos is an exceptionally rare limited edition of up to 99 pieces, introduced in 2014 to mark the opening of F.P. Journe’s Beirut boutique, the brand’s tenth boutique worldwide. Available only through nine select boutiques, the watch takes its name from Byblos, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities and the most important Phoenician port of antiquity, which by the 4th century BC had become a major cultural and commercial crossroads of the Mediterranean. This historical reference gives the piece a strong cultural identity, connecting ancient civilisation with contemporary haute horlogerie in a way that is both meaningful and refined.

The watch is housed in a rare tantalum case, chosen for its distinctive blue-grey tone and technical difficulty to machine, and features a unique cut-out dial that reveals the 18K rose gold, guilloché-decorated movement beneath. The Mediterranean blue hour circle with Western Arabic numerals symbolises the sun of the Orient set against a blue sky, while the F.P. Journe logo is engraved into the movement with the letter J rendered in the Phoenician alphabet, referencing Lebanon and its heritage. Ivory-coloured steel hands complete the aesthetic, and the manually wound Calibre 1304 delivers a 56-hour power reserve ±2 hours via 38 turns of the crown, displaying central hours and minutes with a small seconds subdial at 7:30 within a refined 39 mm case measuring just 8.3 mm thick.