- Movement
- Self-winding
- Size
- 38 or 40 mm
Overview
The chronograph in a 1 mm layer
The F.P. Journe Octa Chronographe, reference C, in 18K 6N gold, white gold and whitened guilloché silver dial, blued steel hands. Self-winding flyback chronograph on the Octa calibre, 60-minute counter and large date, the chronograph housed in a layer 1 mm thick. 10.6 mm high.
The Octa Chronographe is the chronograph of the Octa line, produced, F.P. Journe says, between 2004 and 2008. The brand's claim for it is a first: a chronograph wristwatch with flyback and a large date offering a 120-hour power reserve. Its argument is one of space. The chronograph is housed in a layer only 1 mm thick within the automatic Octa calibre, a layer it shares with the two concentric discs of the large date, and F.P. Journe presents this as a reversal of the classical conception of the chronograph.
Two changes made the height possible. The column wheel that ordinarily commands a chronograph was flattened into a cam wheel, so that the profile of its rim, rather than upright columns, moves the chronograph levers. Return to zero is by a single sliding lever that releases the brakes at the moment it meets the profiled reset parts, bringing the chronograph seconds and minutes back together. The mechanism is reduced to three levels, which the brand credits for a more compact and sturdier movement. The watch has flyback and return-to-zero functions and a 60-minute counter; the date is shown in separate large numerals under a patented display, and the guilloché silver sub-dials for the hours, minutes and small seconds are screwed to the 18-carat gold dial with a steel ring.
For collectors
The functional signature is what a buyer can operate: a flyback with a single reset lever and a cam in place of a column wheel, so the feel of the pushers differs from a column-wheel chronograph. The balance is a dedicated four-arm balance with inertial adjustment, and the plates and bridges are 18K rose gold.
Key details
Design and engineering
- Cam in place of a column wheelThe column wheel is flattened into a cam wheel; the profile of its rim, not upright columns, actions the chronograph levers. This is one of the two changes that let the chronograph sit in a layer 1 mm thick.
- Single reset leverOne sliding lever returns the chronograph seconds and minutes to zero, releasing the brakes at the moment it meets the profiled reset parts. Flyback and return-to-zero, with a 60-minute counter.
- Large date on twin discsTwo concentric discs share the 1 mm layer with the chronograph and show the date as separate large numerals, under a display mode F.P. Journe describes as patented.
- Three levelsWith the cam and the single lever the mechanism is reduced to three levels, which the brand gives as the reason for a sturdier movement.
- Dedicated balanceA four-arm balance with inertial adjustment, on a straight-line escapement, at 21,600 vibrations an hour.
- DialThe guilloché silver sub-dials for hours, minutes and small seconds are screwed to the 18-carat gold dial with a steel circle. Gold dial; blued steel hands.
Calibre 1300.3
- Automatic winding, 22K gold rotor; 120 hours of reserve wound in 1h30 on a Chappuis cyclotest
- Plates and bridges in 18K rose gold
- Flyback chronograph, 60-minute counter, cam-wheel command, single reset lever; large date on two concentric discs
- Straight-line escapement; dedicated four-arm balance with inertial adjustment
- 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz), 32 jewels
- 30 mm overall diameter, 5.50 mm thick; 254 parts
The reference
Technical specifications
| Reference | C |
|---|---|
| Collection | Octa |
| Calibre | Calibre 1300.3 |
| Movement | Self-winding |
| Case dimensions | 38 or 40 mm |
| Case thickness | 10.6 mm |
| Case material | 18K 6N Gold |
| Dial | white Gold and whitened guilloché Silver |
| Hands | blued Steel |
| Jewels | 32 |
| Frequency | 21'600 Alt/H, 3Hz |
| Status | No longer in the current collection |
Buying with HYPA
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