F.P. Journe Octa Quantième Perpétuel in Rose Gold

Descrição

F. P. Journe Octa QP. The Octa was one of the three foundational timepieces of François-Paul Journe.
Journe wanted to produce a base calibre that could accommodate multiple layers of complications without adding an inch to the thickness of the movement. He also wanted to achieve a higher power reserve, without increasing the size of the barrel or reducing the size of the balance.

And so began the work on the legendary Calibre 1300. As with all FP Journe Calibre references, the first 2 digits denote the size of the Calibre in French lignes and the last 2, the year in which the production on the movement started. In this case, the year 2000, and it was the first automatic movement produced by FP Journe.

Journe worked extensively on the technicality of the mainspring and finally settled on a refined version that would measure 1 meter long and 1mm thick, giving consistent power to the gear train for as long as possible. It also featured a 22K rose gold uni-directional rotor, with an autoblocant (self-blocking) ball-bearing system. While designing the movement, Journe allowed for some empty space on the dial side, to accommodate additional complications in future.

The first model introduced in the Octa line was the Octa Réserve de Marche introduced in 2001. It featured an off-center dial with hours and minutes, with an overlapping sub seconds dial, a big date aperture and a large 5-day power reserve indicator. This was followed by the Octa Calendrier and then the Octa Chronograph. The beauty of all the Octa references is that the dimensions of all the calibres measure the same, irrespective of the complication.

Succeeding the Calendrier was the 900pc limited edition Octa Quantième Perpétuel. It was launched in 2013, in platinum and rose gold, and featured the automatic Calibre 1300.03.