Missed F.P. Journe? 6 Independent Watchmakers Collectors Are Chasing in 2026
Every watch forum has the same thread. Someone posts a photo of an F.P. Journe Chronomètre Bleu, and within ten replies somebody writes: "I could have bought one of these for retail ten years ago."
They're not wrong. Journe went from a respected niche name to one of the most chased brands in the world. The brand makes fewer than 1,000 watches a year, and while the catalog's entry point sits around $30,000 at retail, most of its watches change hands for six figures on the secondary market.
So if you missed that train, the natural question is: who's next?
Here's the honest answer up front. Nobody knows. But there is a small group of independent makers who share a lot of what made Journe special early on, and serious collectors are already paying attention.
What actually made Journe "Journe"
Before looking at names, it helps to be clear about what you're looking for. Journe didn't get hot because of marketing. The pattern looked roughly like this:
A single, recognizable watchmaker behind the work. In-house movements with a distinct point of view. Tiny production that never chased demand. Industry recognition that came before mainstream hype. And a design language you could spot from across a room.
The makers below check most of those boxes. That doesn't make them investments. It makes them interesting.
The one that already happened: Akrivia and Rexhep Rexhepi
If you're reading this hoping to find the "next Journe" early, it's worth knowing that one of the strongest candidates already had his moment.
Rexhep Rexhepi founded Akrivia in Geneva in 2012 after apprenticing at Patek Philippe and training at F.P. Journe, and won the GPHG Men's Watch Prize in both 2018 and 2022. In May 2023, his Chronomètre Contemporain sold at Phillips Hong Kong for HK$7.24 million, about $924,000.
That result ended a lot of "who's next" debates. It also shows how fast the window closes.
The names collectors are watching now
Hazemann & Monnin
If you want a direct line back to Journe, start here. Alexandre Hazemann and Victor Monnin met at the Lycée Edgar Faure watchmaking school in Morteau, France, and built their school watches together. That project won the F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition in 2023, and in March 2026 the commercial version won the Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives, chosen from more than 1,000 entries by a jury that included Kari Voutilainen.
The School Watch is a genuinely unusual first release. A 39.5mm steel case holds the HM01 calibre, designed from scratch rather than built on an existing base, combining an instantaneous jumping hour with a passing strike that chimes once at the top of each hour. It comes in two versions of 10 pieces each, one per founder, with a reported sticker price of CHF 59,000. The brand's own site lists two more School Watch variations as "coming soon."
Why people watch them:a Journe-backed origin story, two major prizes, and a complication most established houses don't attempt.
Raúl Pagès
Pagès won the first Louis Vuitton Watch Prize for Independent Creatives with his RP1 Régulateur à Détente, a steel, manual wind watch built around his own caliber. He followed up with the RP2, which hit the market at CHF 89,000. That's the part people skip over: "early" in this world does not mean cheap.
Why people watch him: an original design voice, a major prize, and very small production.
Simon Brette (Chronomètre Artisans)
Brette's Chronomètre Artisans blends neoclassical proportions with art nouveau details, and it was a finalist for that same Louis Vuitton prize. His rose gold edition was quoted at CHF 85,000. As far back as 2024, one publication reported his subscription waitlist running several years.
Why people watch him:subscription allocation, very limited output, and a look unlike anyone else's.
Petermann Bédat
Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat have worked as an independent duo since 2017. Their dead beat seconds mechanism, the Seconde Morte, earned praise for its finishing, and their 1825 launch edition retailed at CHF 75,000 before taxes.
Why people watch them:traditional finishing at a very high level, and a signature complication that isn't a gimmick.
David Candaux
Candaux grew up in a watchmaking family in the Vallée de Joux and introduced his first watch under his own name, the DC1, in 2017, after years building movements for others, including the MB&F HM6 and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie.
His newer DC12 MaveriK is his most accessible piece at CHF 98,000, while his earlier models retail well above $200,000. It's a time-only watch that is anything but simple: two balance wheels linked by a differential, in a curved 39.5mm titanium case.
Why people watch him: real mechanical invention, deep Vallée de Joux roots, and a case design nobody else makes.
Also on the radar
Names that come up repeatedly among collectors include Sylvain Pinaud, Théo Auffret, Rémy Cools, and Behrens, which reached the Louis Vuitton prize semifinals.
If you want something you can actually buy: Parmigiani Fleurier
Not everyone who missed Journe wants to wait years or spend six figures. Parmigiani Fleurier comes with one distinction: it isn't a one-person atelier. Founded in 1996 by Michel Parmigiani and still owned by the Sandoz Family Foundation, it's independent of the big luxury groups but works at a larger scale, estimated at around 3,000 watches a year in 2023.
The story is the turnaround. Guido Terreni left Bulgari to become CEO in 2021 and rebuilt the brand around the Tonda PF. By his account, the brand went from selling on consignment to 18-month waiting lists and grew to five times its size in three years. Its "invisible complications" hide a GMT, a countdown, and now a full chronograph until you call on them.
The steel Tonda PF Micro-Rotor retails for CHF 23,700, and you buy it through authorized dealers rather than a subscription list.
Why people watch it: restrained design, real technical ambition, and a price and buying process regular collectors can access.
The uncomfortable truth about "getting in early"
Early isn't cheap.Apart from Parmigiani, the prices above run from CHF 59,000 to 98,000, and that's the accessible end of these catalogs.
Early means patience.Many of these makers sell through subscription editions, direct relationships, or small retailer allocations. The wait can be years, and there's no guarantee you'll get the call.
Flipping burns bridges.Independent makers know exactly who buys their watches. If a piece lands on the secondary market a month after delivery, you probably won't be offered another one.
The collectors who "got in early" on Journe mostly weren't trying to. They bought a watch they loved from a watchmaker they believed in, and then they kept it.
What we know about Journe waits so far
As of September 2026, Unghosted has 11 buyer reports on F.P. Journe all-time, 7 in the last 12 months. That is three short of the number we need to publish a typical wait. Every one is readable on the site.
Rexhep Rexhepi: 4 reports all-time, none in the last year.
If you have bought from either, add your report. Three more and the Journe page gets a number.
Waitlists are the real story
Whether you're chasing a Rolex Submariner or a Chronomètre Artisans, the frustrating part is the same: nobody tells you how long you'll actually wait or how allocations really work.
That's why we built Unghosted. It's a community-sourced record of real waitlist experiences: what people bought, where, how long it took, and what purchase history they had. If you've been through a waitlist, share your wait and help the next collector know what to expect.
Hope you get the call.
Prices reflect launch or reported figures from the linked sources and change often. Nothing here is investment advice.