This year, Revolution turns 20. Two decades of chronicling watches, people and ideas have given us a front-row seat to a remarkable story: how an age-old craft has both preserved its soul and reinvented itself for the 21st century. To celebrate, we’ve chosen over 100 names and milestones that, for us, define the era so far. From leaders to watches, you can see the whole list here.

The reality is that history is littered with examples of brilliant watchmakers that were also terrible businessmen. Antide Janvier was the first watchmaker to create double pendulum clocks based on Christiaan Huygen’s discovery of resonance, but he was almost constantly bankrupt. To leave a lasting impression on horology, a watchmaker needs long-term vision, technical brilliance, great leadership ability and — yes — serious business acumen. In the entire history of watchmaking, there are two individuals in possession of this combination of talents: the legendary Abraham-Louis Breguet and, the only man to truly contend with him for status as horology’s GOAT, François-Paul Journe.

François-Paul is known as modern watchmaking’s greatest technical genius — from his creation of the world’s first wristwatch with tourbillon and remontoir d’égalité, to the world’s first resonance wristwatch, to the incredible innovation of his Centigraphe, and so much more. But he also owns his own manufacture, his own case and dial manufactures, and his own retail network — meaning that he is an incredibly successful autonomous entity who has built around himself the greatest team in modern independent watchmaking. He is also something of a genius at identifying talent and grooming them to achieve excellence. As his CEO Amélie Lefevere points out, “François-Paul has a sixth sense about people. He looks into you and knows who you are.”

F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance (Image: Phillips)

F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain, 1999

F.P. Journe Centigraphe, 2005

The result is the best staffed, most motivated modern team in contemporary watchmaking, focused on always upholding François-Paul’s vision for uncompromising excellence in a way that almost no other independent watchmaker has achieved. To me, this has allowed him to establish a legacy that, even a hundred years from now, will keep his name as relevant as it is today. But what’s perhaps least known about him — certainly to the public — is that underlying his at times intimidating countenance is one of the kindest souls in our industry.