F.P. Journe: Automatique Lune Havana

AUTOMATIQUE LUNE HAVANA: THE “WARM” SIDE OF F.P. JOURNE

Pleasures. What word best sums up, for a man, a refined whiskey, a good cigar, a great watch? None, we think. Pleasures that are intertwined with each other and that sometimes can unexpectedly be found into a unique object like a watch. But not just any timepiece, no … When we talk about F.P. Journe, the adjective “any” simply does not exist.

Put your hands on the F.P Journe Automatique Lune with Havana dial and you will understand it. You will understand why banality is a concept so far from this watch and why, on the other side, the synthesis of pleasures lives across its case, its strap and, above all, its dial. The name Havana is certainly not needed to underline the atmosphere of “slow smoking” and slow Caribbean sense of time that the nuance of the dial evokes. Just look at it, wear it, enjoy it and the desire for a great cigar and the concreteness of Haute Horlogerie will find a synthesis on the wrist.

ALL THE CHARM SIGNED F.P. JOURNE

F.P. Journe created the warm-coloured Havana dial to perfectly match the 40 mm platinum case and the caramel alligator strap of the Automatique Lune. The dial color is unique, it has no comparison in the watchmaking world and is the result of the company’s well-tended independence, which ensures the creative freedom of the Marseille master watchmaker.

Like all works signed by F.P. Journe, even this color is not the result of chance or unpreparedness. It was developed by Journe’s own dial makers, Les Cadraniers de Genève, which only after several months of work and research have obtained the result they desired, as a color and material rendering. In fact, Havana brown was born from a combination of gold and ruthenium, But to get the colour just right required many adjustments to the formula.

Dressed in Havana, the Automatique Lune thus finds a new, fascinating look in the version launched in 2019 to enrich the collection presented for the first time in 2007; that was one of the first F.P. Journe’s watch with centrally mounted hands, using the whole dial to display the hours and minutes, maximizing legibility with long teardrop-shaped blued steel hands contrasting against a stark silver guilloché dial. Also the Havana version of the Automatique Lune it is made with a 40 and 42 mm platinum or rose gold case and, personally, I find that the color of the dial gives the platinum version more charm. The ivory-colored hands add a touch of further elegance to the whole timepiece.

Compared to the automatic versions, the watch features a larger crown and dial, as well as the “grand date” at 11 o’clock: all to increase the readability and aesthetic balance of the watch. The moon phase indicator, visible through the aperture at 7:30, is made of sapphire, balanced by the small seconds indicator at 5 o’clock. At 9 o’clock, another hand indicates the power reserve, which can reach up to 160 hours.

A CALIBRE MADE BY EXCELLENCE

The Octa 1300.3 caliber beats in the heart of the case. The automatic Octa movement is, like all models in F.P.Journe’s Classique Collection, made from solid 18K rose Gold with a unidirectional oscillating mass in 22K 6N Gold mounted off center. Even the slightest movement of the wrist winds the movement, up to its full power reserve of 160 hours.

The Octa is a prides of F.P. Journe, thanks to its amazing autonomy. The Master himself narrates the challenge he had overcome:

«I imagined that the best and the most obvious means of extending the running duration would be to extend the capacity of the spring development. The difficulty lays in integrating it on the same level as the gear-train and the escapement, given its stability: 1 metre and 1 millimetre thick. Thanks to the low torque of this spring, I could achieve extremely fast automatic winding».

NOT JUST MOONPHASES FOR HAVANA

The moonphases complication is a reference to ancient times, hen the full moon was the only source of light during the night and instrumental in navigation and the rise of civilization. While today we no longer depend on moonlight for navigation, the moonphase remains one of the most poetic of all complications, giving an alternative perspective of the passage of time.

For those who are happy to see it flow in the most classic way but love to indulge in the pleasure of aesthetics, F.P. Journe also offers the Chronomètre Souverain with the new Havana dial. Inspired by early 19th-Century marine chronometry, the 18K rose Gold movement of the Chronomètre Souverain features 2 barrels, in the classic configuration of precision watches that work in parallel to deliver a strong and stable power for an unequalled precision.

Both Havana models are available at the Espace F.P. Journe GMT in Milan at a price of € 34.200 for the Chronomètre Souverain version and € 46.800 for the Automatique Lune model.

By Davide Passoni