For those entrenched in the horological world of the 21st century, it is difficult to imagine an existence without F.P. Journe. François-Paul Journe introduced his first wristwatch, the Tourbillon Souverain, in 1999, and shortly thereafter followed with the revolutionary Chronométre à Résonance and the Octa Réserve de Marche. Believed to have been first conceived on a napkin in 1994, these three seminal pieces were available in a 38mm platinum case and were fitted with 18K gold dials. Journe himself says regarding the development of the Octa, “The creation of the Octa calibre was a real challenge for me, partly in terms of chronometry and timekeeping, but also in terms of respect of day-to-day comfort. I thus devised an automatic winding mechanical movement with a large power-reserve that could incorporate many future complications within the same volume.”

The Octa was also Journe’s first automatic watch, a model that would serve as a foundation for a whole new collection to come. An adversary of modular complications, Journe wanted to create a base movement, with a 120-hour power reserve (a world record for a wristwatch at the time) into which could be integrated different complications without modifying the dimensions of the movement. Caliber 1300 was born measuring 30mm in diameter and 5.5 thickness.

The Octa Réserve de Marche features all of the Journe signature elements that collectors have come to love, including a 38mm platinum case, a highly legible gold dial with offset time indication on the right, a power reserve indicator, and large date complication. Fitted with an early brass movement and rarely seen pink gold dial with lovely patina, the design aesthetic is pure F. P. Journe. Just freshly serviced at the F.P. Journe manufacture, the present example is in excellent overall condition and comes accompanied with its rare and early three-level wooden box.