- Movement
- Manual winding
- Size
- 40 or 42 mm
Overview
Constant force, direct impulse
The F.P. Journe Chronomètre Optimum Boutique Edition, reference CO, in 18K 6N gold with the blackened gold and whitened guilloché silver dial and blued and 5N gilt steel hands. 9.5 mm high, manually wound on calibre 1510 in 18K rose gold, with a one-second remontoir, the EBHP escapement and a natural deadbeat second.
The Boutique Edition, produced between 2014 and 2024, pairs a blackened gold dial with whitened guilloché silver in an 18K 6N gold case, with blued and 5N gilt steel hands.
F.P. Journe designed the Chronomètre Optimum in 2001, and by his account it was the first time he joined a natural deadbeat second to his constant-force remontoir. Work on the Octa calibres, and then on the striking and chronograph models, kept it out of production; in 2004 it inspired the Tourbillon Souverain with deadbeat seconds. Like the rest of the Classique collection it has a manually wound movement in 18K rose gold, and the brand presents it as the sum of its chronometric research.
Journe's stated brief was less internal friction, constant force at the escapement, and an escapement that runs without oil. Two barrels in parallel remove the side pressure on the great wheel and give the train a steadier drive. A one-second remontoir at 11 o'clock, light and made in titanium, feeds the escapement and holds the amplitude constant for the first 45 hours of the 70-hour reserve. The escapement, which F.P. Journe calls the EBHP, gives impulse directly to the balance and needs no lubrication; its geometry lets it start by itself, and ruby pallets lock the escape wheels at an angle that allows recoil, which steadies the balance against movement on the wrist.
For collectors
The deadbeat second is on the back. On the dial, the small seconds at 9 o'clock ticks at the escapement's own frequency, six steps a second, and the remontoir wheel turns in view; behind the sapphire case back a large seconds hand, driven from the remontoir, jumps once a second. Journe's reason for an oil-free escapement is durability as much as rate: he says he builds with proven, solid materials so that a watch will still work in 200 years.
Key details
Design and engineering
- Two barrels in parallelSharing the load between two springs removes the lateral pressure on the great wheel, one of the sources of friction Journe set out to reduce, and gives the train a more stable force.
- One-second remontoirA light, balanced titanium remontoir at 11 o'clock is rearmed once a second; F.P. Journe gives the result as constant amplitude for the first 45 hours. Amplitude is specified at 260° dial-up both at full wind and after 24 hours.
- EBHP escapementF.P. Journe's High-Performance Bi-axial Escapement is a direct-impulse design inspired by A.L. Breguet's eighteenth-century escapement, with arbor and wheels in titanium, and runs without oil. Journe says the historic direct-impulse escapements were not suited to the wrist; this one is self-starting and its locking allows recoil.
- Natural deadbeat secondLinked to the one-second remontoir, the large seconds hand on the back of the movement advances in whole-second steps, framed by a seconds circle screwed to the bridges.
- DialHours and minutes off-centre at 3 o'clock, small seconds at 9, power reserve at 6, with the remontoir wheel visible.
Calibre 1510
- Manual winding, 27 turns of the crown
- 18K rose gold; circular graining on the base plate, Geneva waves on the bridges
- Two barrels in parallel, one-second remontoir, EBHP escapement without oil
- 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz), 44 jewels
- Power reserve 70 ± 2 hours
- 34.00 mm overall diameter, 5.80 mm high, 240 parts
The reference
Technical specifications
| Reference | CO |
|---|---|
| Collection | Boutique |
| Calibre | Calibre 1510 |
| Movement | Manual winding |
| Functions | Off centre hours and minutes at 3h00, Small second at 9h00, Power reserve at 6h00, Large dead beat second on the back |
| Case dimensions | 40 or 42 mm |
| Case thickness | 9.5 mm |
| Case material | 18K 6N Gold |
| Dial | blackened Gold and whitened guilloché Silver |
| Hands | blued Steel and 5N gilt Steel |
| Jewels | 44 |
| Power reserve | 70 ± 2 hours |
| Frequency | 21,600 Alt/h (3Hz) |
| Movement parts | 240 |
| Distribution | Boutique Edition: F.P. Journe sells the black dial on an 18K 6N gold case only in its own boutiques and Espaces. |
| Status | No longer in the current collection |
Buying with HYPA
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- Registered Australian dealerHYPA International Pty Ltd · Registered Victorian second-hand dealer, Registration No. SHD-0018017.
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