THIS MODEL WAS PRODUCED BETWEEN 2004 AND 2015.

AN EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION AVAILABLE ONLY FOR F.P.JOURNE WATCH OWNERS.

WITH A LIMITED PRODUCTION OF ABOUT 900 TIMEPIECES PER YEAR, F.P.JOURNE WANTED TO OFFER AN EVEN MORE EXCLUSIVE TIMEKEEPER THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE ONLY FOR OWNERS OF AN F.P.JOURNE WATCH. WITH A CASE MADE IN PLATINUM, THE MOST PRECIOUS METAL, F.P.JOURNE HAS CREATED A DISTINGUISHED BLACK DIAL THAT PERSONALIZES EVEN FURTHER THE ELEGANCE OF THE BRAND WATCHES. THE BLACK LABEL COLLECTION WAS BORN.

THE BLACK LABEL COLLECTION IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN THE F.P.JOURNE BOUTIQUES AND ESPACES.

WORLD PREMIERE:
THE OCTA CALENDRIER IS THE FIRST WRISTWATCH INTEGRATE AN ANNUAL CALENDAR WITH A LARGE DATE, AND TO FEATURE A POWER RESERVE OF MORE THAN 120 HOURS.

THE ANNUAL CALENDAR IS THE THIRD COMPLICATION TO BE INTEGRATED IN THE AUTOMATIC OCTA CALIBRE. A CALIBRE RECOGNIZED AS THE AUTOMATIC MOVEMENT TO FEATURE A POWER RESERVE OF OVER FIVE DAYS WITH A VERY HIGH DEGREE OF PRECISION - EVEN WHEN THE WATCH IS NOT WORN! THE ORIGINALITY OF EACH COMPLICATION IN THE OCTA COLLECTION IS THE IDENTICAL BASEPLATE USED FOR EACH MODEL.

FRANÇOIS-PAUL JOURNE HAS MANAGED TO INTEGRATE A SIZABLE COMPLICATION - A RETROGRADE ANNUAL CALENDAR - WHILE MAINTAINING THE DIMENSIONS OF THE STANDARD MOVEMENT OF ONLY 30MM IN DIAMETER AND 5,7 MM HIGH.

THE ANNUAL CALENDAR INDICATES THE DATE IN TWO WINDOWS AND IT THE DATE ADVANCES AUTOMATICALLY FOR MONTHS WITH 29, 30 AND 31 DAYS. IN NON-LEAP YEARS (THREE YEARS OUT OF FOUR) THE DATE IS ADVANCED MANUALLY FROM THE 28TH TO THE 29TH OF FEBRUARY BY A SIMPLE TURN OF THE CROWN. THE DATE THEN PASSES AUTOMATICALLY FROM FEBRUARY 29 TO MARCH 1.

CALIBRE OCTA

A HOROLOGICAL IDEAL

“THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE OCTA CALIBRE HAS LESS POWERFUL TIES WITH HOROLOGICAL HISTORY THAN DO THE CONSTANT-FORCE DEVICE OR RESONANCE MODELS, BUT IT SYMBOLISES AN HOROLOGICAL IDEAL OF GIVING TIMEKEEPERS THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE DEGREE OF PRECISION AND AUTONOMY!

ONE CAN INDEED NOTE THE FACT THAT IF CHURCH CLOCKS ARE PLACED SO HIGH, IN ADDITION TO ENHANCING VISIBILITY, IT WAS MOSTLY BECAUSE IT OFTEN TOOK AN ENTIRE MONTH FOR THE DRIVING-WEIGHTS TO DROP THE LENGTH OF THEIR CORDS. NUMEROUS SYSTEMS WERE INVENTED TO INCREASE THE OPERATING DURATION OF TIMEKEEPING DEVICES, MEETING WITH VARIOUS DEGREES OF SUCCESS. GIVEN THE SMALL VOLUME OF A WRISTWATCH, THE SIZE OF THE MAINSPRING WAS AUTOMATICALLY LIMITED. WATCHMAKERS THEREFORE DISCOVERED THE TRICK OF ADDING AN EXTRA WHEEL TO THE CUSTOMARY GEARTRAIN IN ORDER TO EXTEND THE DURATION OF ITS DEVELOPMENT. UNFORTUNATELY, ACTUALLY USING THIS SYSTEM, EVEN WITH A STRONGER SPRING, LED THEM TO OBSERVE THAT THE LEVEL OF ENERGY ACTUALLY REACHING THE BALANCE REMAINED LOW. TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS, THEY FITTED A SMALLER BALANCE USING LESS ENERGY, BUT WHICH WAS ALSO LESS STABLE. IT IS THEREFORE NOT UNUSUAL TO FIND THAT SOME WATCHES ABLE TO RUN FOR SEVERAL DAYS DISPLAY AN EXTREMELY UNPREDICTABLE LEVEL OF PRECISION.

THIS CHALLENGE WAS A POWERFUL SOURCE OF MOTIVATION! I THEN IMAGINED THAT THE BEST AND THE MOST OBVIOUS MEANS OF EXTENDING THE RUNNING DURATION WOULD BE TO EXTEND THE CAPACITY OF THE SPRING DEVELOPMENT. THE DIFFICULTY LAY IN INTEGRATING IT ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE GEAR-TRAIN AND THE ESCAPEMENT, GIVEN ITS STABILITY: 1 METRE AND 1 MILLIMETRE THICK. THANKS TO THE LOW TORQUE OF THIS SPRING, I COULD ACHIEVE EXTREMELY FAST AUTOMATIC WINDING (ONE AND A HALF HOURS ON A CHAPPUIS CYCLOTEST FOR OVER 5 DAYS’ RUNNING).

ONCE THE CHALLENGE OF AUTONOMY WAS THUS SUCCESSFULLY MET WITH THIS AUTOMATIC WINDING CALIBRE, I KNUCKLED DOWN TO THE SECOND CHALLENGE OF MANAGING TO INSERT VARIOUS COMPLICATIONS INTO THAT SAME MOVEMENT: POWER RESERVE WITH LARGE DATE DISPLAY, FLY-BACK CHRONOGRAPH WITH LARGE DATE DISPLAY, RETROGRADE ANNUAL CALENDAR, ETC… AND OF DOING SO WHILE MAINTAINING AN IDENTICAL SIZE FOR ALL MODELS IN THE OCTA COLLECTION.

THREE YEARS OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WERE REQUIRED BEFORE THIS AUTOMATIC WINDING MOVEMENT THAT IS UNIQUE IN THE WORLD COULD BE PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC.”


FRANÇOIS-PAUL JOURNE