ChristianDK
[F.P. Journe Moderator]
15050
the reason I was explained was it was about reaching a more consistent and stabile end product.
Hi. Good question.
The early dials are solid gold that was treated to give it a texture and then sealed with laquer. This proces - with time - turned out problematic as the dials would oxidize and tarnish. Back then people would complain about tarnishing as they did not have the romantic view of those dials as the consensus today. If you go waaay back - you can find old posts where people are very upset about this "bad QC of dials". LOL..how times have changed.
In the first early years, some of these dials where also done by sub contractors and this added to the problem. Later F.P. makes his own dial company that supplies dials to Vacheron and to several of the independents. This new manufacture is called Les Cadraniers de Geneve and that is a story for an other day.
The dials are still gold. but the proces has changed to completely stabilize the surface of the dial. Now they consist of a gold disk that is plated with gold. The chemistry in the plating is very stabile and does not oxidize. NOT an easy proces either as minute details can change the outcome. The people at the dial manufacture are very concerned about achieving consistency. Just to give you an example. If you compare my Resonance produced in 2005 with my Optimum produed in 2022 there is no noticable difference between the two. Sometimes I try to convince myself that the Resonance is a tad warmer but the difference is so tiny Im not even sure its there.
Another additional thing I was explained by the head of dial production is that FP does not like dials to be too shiny. when he is presented with production options for new dials he usually leans towards the mat finish. The same goes for the newly produced ruthinium dials as compared to the historic ruthinium series. The old ones will have a gorgeous shimmering shine at certain angles where the new ones just look dark grey to me. This is also a deliberate choice from FP.
Many - like you - love the old dials. Myself included. The only way to get one of those dials is to buy vintage. Im pretty sure we will not see them again.
My Octa Rose gold says hi. It has hardly oxidized where others have lots of tarnish. This one is one of the very first production models and the manufactures archive shows it was made by F.P. personally.
Here is a tray of solid yellow gold disks before the red gold plating. These would end up as the "red" dials you know well.
Journe gold dials
Hello I was just curious why Journe does not make the bright yellow and rose gold dials like the earlier watches. Those dials look truely stunning to me. Personally i prefer those dials to the new ones. Wondering if someone could shed some light on this? ...
The Jade dials are extremely limited
Ive heard a few numbers and they are VERY low. these where presented to very special clients only.
the reason I was explained was it was about reaching a more consistent and stabile end product.
Hi. Good question. The early dials are solid gold that was treated to give it a texture and then sealed with laquer. This proces - with time - turned out problematic as the dials would oxidize and tarnish. Back then people would complain about tarnishing ...
Thank you very much Christian for this very insightful post.
I am a great admirer of your Octa Réserve De March. A great watch, lucky you.
Thanks for the colour Christian.
Not liking shiny dials it’s amazing the CB and now the Furtiv made it out the door ! I guess his preference is to the extremes, completely matte or screaming out loud shiny.
Perhaps it’s how I phrased it in my post..
My understanding is not and I never meant to say that FP does not like shiny dials per se. the concept of the CB is that it is a reflective dial. So is the dial of the tourbillon Vertical. This is also quite shiny as it is cut in to the gold in a similar ...
Thanks
Thanks Christian. Very informative. I saw one of the yellow gold calenders at the recent phillips auction and thought it was so beautiful... hence was wondering if they would ever make those dials again. My resonance is rose gold and there is something so...
Old dial question
Wonderful explanation! Do you know what year he changed the dials from the older textured process to the newer homogenized one?
From memory it’s around 2003….
I don’t know if some were made in 2004. I think it’s easy to spot the difference though.
No, none in the collection
I’ve seen an Astronomic with a ruthinium dial. When you order this specific watch you get a broad range of options to choose the also seen an other "one off watch" for a top, top client with ruthinium.
Great post!
I knew the broad strokes about this, as early clients were very vocal about the dial inconsistency, but I didn't know any of the details you mentioned. Thank you for this detailed post!
