In 2001, F.P. Journe introduces a collection of long power reserve wristwatches with automatic winding from which F.P. Journe presents the new Automatique Lune for 2019. Now offered in 40- and 42-millimeter cases, the Automatique lune features a larger dial, crown, and date aperture to increase the legibility and aesthetic balance of the watch. The moonphase, arching through its aperture at 7:30, is now made of sapphire.
The moonphase complication offers a link to ancient times, when 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.
First introduced in 2007, the Automatique Lune was one of the first F.P. Journe watches to feature 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. The Moonphase cut across the lower left quarter, balanced by a small seconds in the bottom right. At 9 o’clock, another teardrop-shaped hand sweeps across the hour power reserve and finally, with F.P. Journe’s signature monoplanar grande date at 11.
The new Automatique Lune expands on the original formula by adding a larger date aperture (4.7 x 2.6 millimeters) and a revisited moon in sapphire. The silver dial suits the new 40- and 42-millimeter cases, with a guilloche Clous de Paris center surrounded by blue printed numerals, in harmony with the blued steel hands and moonphase. Finally, the new Automatique Lune is fitted with a larger crown with F.P. Journe’s distinctive silk-rope motif, tying together the aesthetic balance of the piece.
The automatic Octa movement is, like all models in F.P. Journe’s Classique Collection, made from solid 18-kt. rose gold with a unidirectional oscillating mass in 22-kt. 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 Automatique Lune is available at all F.P. Journe Boutiques, espaces, and retailers.
