F.P. Journe

Hi All,

 

Journe dials, in various colours, seem to be particularly difficult to capture consistently in pictures. I guess this chameleon-like character in different light adds to the pleasure of ownership.

 

I am particularly interested in the now discontinued yellow gold dials of the early Journe watches. From pictures some seem to be matte and others have a frosted finish, and the colour varies from bright yellow to a more subdued honey colour.

 

I would be interested to see photos of these different dials and to understand what variety was available and when changes were made to the production.

 

Any information gratefully received.

 

Regards

 

Andrew

Chameleon is right. This piece runs from a very pale yellow, through a sandy brown to - in some lighting conditions - a dove grey. The main dial is a shiny, frosted gilt yellow and is circa 2000-2001.

This is that pure honey yellow color that you mention; to me, the perfect YG dial.

Thanks Dennis,

This Pt/YG colour combination is the one that I associate most with Journe. And I do like the purity of this most basic Octa.

Does your image demonstrate how the YG dial reflects light differently and depending on angles?

Does anyone know if F.P.Journe use anti-reflective coatings on their sapphire lenses?

Andrew

Thanks Wees,

Very nice Resonance. This colour makes the dial seem even more like a scientific instrument. It niceley exemplifies the steampunk aesthetic that I like in Journe timepieces.

Lovely.

Andrew

These both pieces are between no.40-45 , year 2000. They both spot the shiny glittering Yellow Gold dial and Super Silvery Sub Dial. *CL

This message has been edited by CL on 2010-04-07 11:47:25

Thanks John,

 

Nice to see more of this Resonance; congratulations again.

 

The Journe subdials are made form sterling silver I believe. Were there differences in the colour of the subdials as well over time? Does anyone know who FPJ subcontracted the dial work and printing to? Are the dials made in-house now?

 

Andrew

are made in house but I'm not certain. One thing I'm very certain is the current dial is very well finish as compared to those of the earliest version.
Even the earlier version has different manufacturer.The one that Dennis showed is of later generation with white sub dial, probably has better finishing too.
Wee's version I'm not sure as I can't tell from the picture....it doesn't seem as glittering as mine.
Mine is the earliest and if you check under the loupe, it's not perfect but it has an old world charm
Cheers,
CL

Exactly, which is why I prefer the more "brassy" colour over the bright yellow.  Here's another photo - apologies but the photographer is rubbish.  I might try taking photos in the daytime... If it helps, and CL might be able to tell from the numbering, it's between 100-150, with the brass movement.

Thanks John,

Initially the Journe dials were manufactured at Les Cadraniers in Geneva. This was a company jointly established in the year 2000 by F.P.Journe with Harry Winston and Cedric Johner. FPJ, himself, was listed as the Managing Director (2005) and President (2007) but after that point there is little about the company available publically.

Any recent information about dial manufacture would be appreciated.

Andrew

the information. I'm sorry I don't know the answer to your question. Maybe Brad can ask for you
Cheers,
CL

Here is an early generation Remontoir

And a newer generation Octa Lune

Very different shades of YG, both intriguing.

Before you think this dial is pink gold not yellow gold... look again

Is it the frosted, granular surface that reflects light differently?

Andrew

Thanks Brad, very nice to see these different dials.

Given that the dials were produced by the same manufacture, I can only assume that these changes in colour and finish were deliberate, which I find interesting, and of course welcome, because it provides greater variety to the watches out there.

Do you have any knowledge about why the differences? Were they just experimenting with finish and colours? Did the corrosion on early examples necessitate a change in manufacturing processes (or perhaps that problem only became apparent some time later)? Was variation in the YG dials greater than the early WG and RG dials? And it seems that during the more recent half of the companies existence that dial variation is less?

Too many questions!

Andrew

I'm not exactly sure but I'm told by my Jedi Master that he was practically hand finishing the dials himself. He mentioned that he can even see the faint scratches on his remontoir which he most probably sanded by hand. This is true only for the very first tourbillons and even fewer Resonances. Over time he probably explored different techniques, materials and coatings until he became happy with the production process which helped avoid some of the earlier problems of dials discoloring. The eventual result were the dials became more matte and standard.

Even now it’s hard to think of Journe’s watches as being “mass produced”, but this variation and personal touch makes the earlier, hand-finished, watches even more interesting and desirable.

 

This information and your additional photos are much appreciated.

 

Andrew

Depending on the lighting the more yellow the dial gets...

This message has been edited by bs22fly on 2010-04-10 06:15:11

. . . ;-) . . .

I wear it almost everday

Thanks Art for finding this image for me.

 

Classic Journe color combination to my eyes. And the short wide lugs make the watch sit perfectly.

 

Very nice.

 

Andrew