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Octa Reserve de Marche in 40mm Platinum Case

F.P. Journe

Octa Reserve de Marche in 40mm Platinum Case

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DETAILS

The Octa Réserve de Marche is the first automatic watch that F. P. Journe launched on the market in 2001 as the third model in the brand's then still very small collection. Its caliber 1300 was originally developed by François-Paul Journe to meet the wishes of his customers who preferred a self-winding watch. He designed a slim caliber that made it possible to incorporate various additional complications without altering the overall thickness of the movement and ensured that the thickness of the case, and therefore of the watch, remained practically the same for all models in the Octa collection. For the caliber 1300, François-Paul Journe developed a large barrel with a meter-long mainspring that allowed for a power reserve of approximately 160 hours, of which 120 hours were taken to ensure a chronometric rate with only a 25% drop in amplitude after the first 120 hours of power reserve.

REASONS TO BUY

The second-generation Octa Réserve de Marche in a 40 mm platinum case with matte finished white gold dial is an exclusive offering. It is a rare find for collectors and connoisseurs of F.P. Journe watchmaking, who have the chance to acquire a representative of this model with the second-generation caliber 1300.2, which was introduced in 2004 and produced until 2007 with an estimated total production of just over 200 pieces. In addition to the well-known qualities of F.P. Journe watches that have made them an excellent prize for collectors, the appeal and significance of this watch is determined by this model's place in the Octa Réserve de Marche timeline, which offers an inquisitive mind many opportunities to explore the history of this design that has had its share of technical developments, sharp turns, starts and restarts.

ABOUT THIS WATCH

Launched in 2001, the Octa Réserve de Marche was equipped with a traditional brass movement during a three-year production phase before being fitted with a new-generation movement with mainplate and bridges in 18k rose gold. This caliber 1300.2 with bidirectional winding was then used for the next 3 years. In 2007, F. P. Journe changed the winding system to unidirectional winding; this version of the movement is known as caliber 1300.3. The third generation of the Octa Réserve de Marche should therefore have received this caliber, but the Octa Réserve de Marche in its original version was no longer produced. Instead, a new version was launched in 2007, for which the dial design was changed and the caliber 1300.3 modified accordingly. This watch was renamed Octa Automatique Réserve and was produced until 2014. Instead of a lateral sub-dial for the main time, the watch has central hour and minute hands without applied sub-dial. Later, the original design reappeared in the Octa Réserve de Marche in a limited edition of 38 pieces in 2015. This stainless steel wristwatch was produced to mark the discontinuation of F.P. Journe’s 38 mm watches. It seems that the original design of the Octa Réserve de Marche is history, but a regular model with the caliber 1300.3 was to appear. This model was unexpectedly relaunched in 2021 under the name Octa Automatique (Ref. AN) in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Octa Réserve de Marche. Now, this model remains in the brand’s collection with the same caliber 1300.3, modified to the side sub-dial for the main time scheme and a 40- or 42-mm case in platinum 950 or 18k rose gold. Nowadays, when interest in collecting F.P. Journe watches has greatly increased and production was and is largely limited, all nuances, including the affiliation of a particular watch to a particular period, become important. The present watch belongs to the second generation Octa Réserve de Marche with caliber 1300.2, which was introduced in 2004 and finally discontinued in 2007. Our research has revealed that F.P. Journe produced approximately 500 pieces of the first generation Octa Réserve de Marche and just over 200 pieces of the second generation Octa Réserve de Marche, of which about a quarter were watches with a 40 mm platinum case and a frosted white gold dial (which is the configuration of this watch). The other precious features of F. P. Journe watchmaking, such as the matte-finished solid white gold dial, the guilloché and grooved applied solid silver main time sub-dial, the drop-shaped Journe hands in blued steel and the Arabic numerals designed by François-Paul Journe himself, undoubtedly enhance the appeal of this watch. Just like the 40 mm platinum case and the pin buckle engraved with “F. P. Journe”, which are an unmistakable sign of the exclusivity of the brand's watches.