WatchTime’s 2014 “Inside Basel.Geneva” event tour wraps up this week in San Francisco (October 2). West coach watch aficionados who attend this final IBG show of the year will have the opportunity to see and try on many new watches, including several standout models from respected indie watch brands F.P. Journe, Greubel Forsey and Parmigiani Fleurier.
Watchmaker and brand founder Francois-Paul Journe created the F.P. Journe Chronomètre Optimum to be “the essence of precision.” The watch, available in 40-mm and 42-mm cases in platinum or 18k rose gold, brings together, for the first time in a single timepiece, a number of notable inventions in its solid gold movement. These include a double barrel in parallel with two springs to ensure the stability of the driving force; a patented constant-force remontoire (the first to be made in titanium) to balance the driving force to the escapement and ensure the isochronism of the balance; and a high-performance bi-axial escapement (also patented), which has two wheels and functions without the need for lubricant. The Chronomètre Optimum also includes a natural “dead beat” seconds function, and a balance spring with a Philips curve for better equilibrium. The movement boasts a power reserve of 70 hours.
The F.P. Journe Chronometre Optimum has an asymmetrical dial (in white gold or rose gold), with hours and minutes on a large subdial at 3 o’clock, small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock, and a power-reserve indicator hand at 6 o’clock. The remontoir device is visible in a small aperture at 11 o’clock. The watch features a sapphire caseback showing off Journe’s manual-winding Caliber 1510, and in particular its dead-beat seconds display via a seconds circle screwed onto the movement’s bridges. Like other F.P. Journe watch movements, this one also features a high level of decorative finishes, including Geneva waves, circular graining, and polished screw heads. The watch comes on either a leather strap or a case-matching bracelet in platinum or rose gold.
