F.P. Journe Automatique Lune Nacre AL2
Movement
Self-winding
Size
40 or 42 mm

Overview

Five days on one spring

The F.P. Journe Automatique Lune Nacre, reference AL2, in platinum, with a whitened guilloché silver centre inside a blue mother-of-pearl hour ring and blued steel hands. 10.7 mm high, self-winding on calibre Octa 1300.3 in 18K rose gold, with a large date, moon phase and retrograde power reserve.

The Nacre version, produced between 2021 and 2024, belongs to F.P. Journe's Collection Boutique Nacre: a mother-of-pearl hour ring with blue Arabic numerals around a clous de Paris guilloché centre, with blued steel hands. The platinum case takes blue mother-of-pearl around a whitened silver centre; the 18K 6N gold case takes pink mother-of-pearl around a 5N silver centre.

The Automatique Lune is built on the Octa, F.P. Journe's automatic calibre, which Journe designed to give a wristwatch long autonomy without the weak, unstable balance that long-running movements had relied on. In the brand's account it was the first automatic movement to hold precision timekeeping for more than 120 hours. F.P. Journe presents this Automatique Lune as a new version of the original: the date aperture grows to 4.7 × 2.6 mm, the moon disc is redrawn in sapphire, a retrograde reserve indicator carries a 120-hour scale, and a larger crown bears the brand's silk-rope motif.

Journe's route to autonomy was a longer spring rather than an extra wheel in the train: a mainspring he gives as 1 metre by 1 millimetre, laid out on the same level as the gear train and escapement. Its low torque lets the off-centre 22K 5N gold rotor, turning in one direction on a self-locking ball bearing, wind the watch quickly; he cites one and a half hours on a Chappuis cyclotest for more than 5 days' running. The effective reserve is 160 ± 10 hours. The Octa was also planned as a base for complications at a constant size, and here the moon phase runs from its own wheel train and is set from the crown.

For collectors

The balance is not made smaller to stretch the reserve. Journe's criticism of earlier long-running watches was that they paired an extra train wheel with a smaller, less stable balance; the Octa keeps a free-sprung balance with four inertia weights, and F.P. Journe specifies 280° amplitude dial-up at 12 hours and still 220° at 90 hours.

Key details

Case materialPlatinum
MovementCalibre 1300.3, self-winding
CollectionBoutique

Design and engineering

  • Long mainspringExtending the spring rather than the gear train keeps enough energy at the balance for a stable rate across the reserve, which is the problem Journe set out to solve with the Octa.
  • Off-centre rotor22K 5N gold, winding in one direction on a self-locking ball bearing. F.P. Journe specifies 274 clockwise revolutions of the rotor in 24 hours without the mainspring slipping.
  • Free-sprung balanceFour inertia weights and a flat Anachron micro-flamed spring on a Nivatronic collet, with an in-line lever escapement and 15-tooth escape wheel.
  • Moon and dateA dedicated wheel train drives the sapphire moon disc; the large date changes instantaneously. The date is set by turning the crown both ways in position 2, the time in position 3.
  • DialCentre hours and minutes, small seconds at 4:30, the retrograde reserve at 9 o'clock on its 120-hour scale, the large date and the moon phase.

Calibre 1300.3

  • Octa automatic calibre, unidirectional off-centre rotor in 22K 5N gold
  • Movement in 18K rose gold
  • 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz), 36 jewels
  • Autonomy 160 ± 10 hours
  • 34.60 mm overall diameter, 5.90 mm high
  • 271 parts in the movement, 295 cased up with strap

The reference

Technical specifications

Automatique Lune Nacre
ReferenceAL2
CollectionBoutique
CalibreCalibre 1300.3
MovementSelf-winding
FunctionsCentre hours and minutes, Small seconds at 4:30, Large date, Power-reserve indicator at 9h00, Moon phase
Case dimensions40 or 42 mm
Case thickness10.7 mm
Case materialPlatinum
Dialcentre in whitened guilloché Silver with outer ring in blue mother of pearl
Handsblued Steel
Jewels36
Power reserve160 ± 10 hours
Frequency21 600 Alt/h (3 Hz)
DistributionCollection Nacre: F.P. Journe states it is available only in its boutiques and Espaces.
StatusNo longer in the current collection

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