MARKET | Updates & Debuts
F.P. JOURNE
HAVANA DIALS: OCTA AUTOMATIQUE RÉSERVE AND
OCTA AUTOMATIQUE LUNE
F.P. JOURNE EARLIER THIS YEAR CREATED A WARM-BROWN, so-called
Havana dial that nicely matches the watch’s 40mm platinum cases and
the caramel alligator strap. (The name Havana is meant to recall the
brown color of a premium Cuban cigar.) In fact, the dial is so nice that
F.P. Journe has now placed it on two Octa Automatique watches.
One, the Octa Automatique Lune, features a moonphase subdial;
the other, the Octa Automatique Réserve, does not. This Havana dial
color was developed by Journe’s own dialmakers, Les Cadraniers de
Genève, as the result of a process that takes several months. The dial-
making process requires combining gold and ruthenium with continual
adjustments to get the warm brown hue just right.
Both watches celebrate the long power reserve (fi ve days—made
possible in part by the use of an extra long mainspring) with a
46 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2017
distinctive indicator and a large date display. And of course, as with
the vast majority of all F.P. Journe calibers, the movement’s base plate
and bridges are all made of rose gold, which makes for an equally
attractive view from the back of these watches. You’ll see Journe’s own
Calibre 1300.3.
To set and adjust the indications, including for the moonphase on the
Octa Automatique Lune, the wearer needs only to turn the crown, which
makes the watch’s functions easy to use. Both watches are also available
on a platinum bracelet and are sold exclusively in the F.P.Journe
boutiques worldwide. Prices on a leather strap: $43,600 and $47,000
(with moonphase). The New York F.P. Journe boutique reports that both
Octa Automatique watches were in stock as of May. Also in stock: an
equally impressive Havana-dialed Chronometre Souverain ($35,400).
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