- Movement
- Self-winding
Overview
The Octa with a moon
The F.P. Journe Octa Automatique Lune Nacre, reference AL, in platinum with the blue mother-of-pearl dial. 10.6 mm high, self-winding on calibre Octa 1300.3, with a large date, moon phase, small seconds at 4:30 and the power reserve at 9 o'clock.
The Octa Automatique Lune Nacre, produced between 2008 and 2017, combines F.P. Journe's automatic Octa calibre with a large date, moon phase and power reserve, in the Boutique Nacre dress: a mother-of-pearl hour circle with Arabic numerals around a clous de Paris guilloché centre. Journe describes the Octa as a pursuit of a horological ideal, the most precision and autonomy a timekeeper can carry, and as a base built to take several complications while keeping one size across every model.
Journe's route to autonomy was to lengthen the mainspring rather than add a wheel to the train, which he says had left earlier long-running watches with too little energy at a smaller, less stable balance. He set a spring of 1 metre by 1 millimetre on the same level as the gear train and escapement; its low torque allows very fast automatic winding, in his account one and a half hours on a Chappuis cyclotest for more than 5 days' running. The off-centre rotor winds in one direction, and F.P. Journe specifies an autonomy of 160 ± 10 hours.
For collectors
F.P. Journe's objection to the usual long-running watch was its weak balance. The Octa keeps a free-sprung balance with four inertia weights and specifies 280° amplitude dial-up at 12 hours and 220° at 90 hours, the figures that show how much energy still reaches the balance late in the reserve.
Key details
Design and engineering
- Spring, not trainLengthening the mainspring rather than the gear train is what keeps energy at the balance late in the reserve. Journe gives three years of development before the calibre was shown.
- Off-centre rotorWinds in one direction; F.P. Journe gives 274 clockwise revolutions of the rotor in 24 hours without the mainspring slipping.
- BalanceFour inertia weights, flat Anachron micro-flamed spring on a Nivatronic collet and pinned GE stud, free-sprung, with an in-line lever escapement and 15-tooth wheel.
- CalendarInstantaneous large date and moon phase. 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 and the power reserve at 9 o'clock, within the mother-of-pearl hour circle.
Calibre 1300.3
- Octa automatic calibre, unidirectional off-centre rotor
- Free-sprung balance, in-line lever escapement, slipping mainspring
- 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz), 36 jewels
- Autonomy 160 ± 10 hours
- 34.60 mm overall diameter, 5.80 mm high
- 271 parts in the movement, 295 cased up with strap
The reference
Technical specifications
| Reference | AL |
|---|---|
| Collection | Boutique |
| Calibre | Calibre 1300.3 |
| Movement | Self-winding |
| Functions | Centre hours and minutes, Small seconds at 4:30, Large date, Power-reserve indicator at 9h00, Moon phase |
| Case material | Platinum |
| Dial | Blue Mother of Pearl |
| Jewels | 36 |
| Power reserve | 160 ± 10 hours |
| Frequency | 21'600 Alt/h (3 Hz) |
| Status | No longer in the current collection |
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