WatchTime New York is just a week away, and Team WatchTime is steadily growing more and more excited for the 37 brands we’ll be hosting on October 25-26 at Gotham Hall in Manhattan. One of those brands is famed haute horlogerie manufacturer F.P. Journe, and this year the high-end Swiss watchmaker will be presenting its updated Automatique Lune watches from the Octa collection. The Automatique Lune was first introduced in 2007, but in 2019 the Geneva-based company refreshed the interesting moon-phase watches with updated dials, case sizes, and crowns.
The updated models are available at 40-mm and 42-mm sizes, cased in either 18k 6N gold or platinum, and feature F.P. Journe’s distinctive silk-rope motif on their otherwise flat crowns. These sizes are updated from the previous 30.8-mm sizing, and represent a significant shift in the appeal of the handsome models. The dial is available in the brand’s whitened or “Havana” silver dial, with an outer railroad-track minute ring, blue or gold printed Arabic numerals, and a guilloché center described as “Clous de Paris.”
Toward the 9 o’clock position is the power-reserve indicator, displaying a scale of 120 hours, while near the 4 o’clock position is the classical seconds subdial with its circular counterweight on the hand. The two other key dial features are the updated moon-phase at the 7:30 mark, now produced in sapphire, and the enlarged date indicator at the 11:30 position. Sweeping over the dial and the off-center F.P. Journe logo are the long, teardrop-shaped hands, in blued steel or gold, that are unique to the brand.
The new Automatique Lune models use the automatic Calibre F.P. Journe 1300.3 in 18K gold, featuring an off-center rotor produced in 22k gold. The movement beats at 21,600 vph, and as a result maintains an impressive 160-hour power reserve — a full 40-hours more than displayed on the dial’s indicator. The movement is finished with circular côtes de Genève on the bridges, and circular graining on the base plate, among its other expertly polished parts. Pricing for these special watches is still unavailable, though if the prior Automatique Lune models are to be any indication, they will likely begin retail above $35,000.
Be sure to get your tickets soon for the upcoming WatchTime New York event to see this new model and many more! The event is fast approaching, and Saturday tickets are still available.
