F.P. Journe launched his first perpetual calendar timepiece as part of the Octa line of watches. In 2013 the model was the object of one of the most remarkable exercises in reinterpretation of recent years, as F.P. Journe introduced a completely new dial architecture: moving away from the quirky retrograde date indication so far employed, the dial now features all calendar indications neatly and symmetrically framed in 4 windows: one for the day, one for the month, and two for the large date. The leap year indication is “hidden in plain sight”: a minuscule third hand indicates the leap year cycle on a small subsidiary dial at the very center of the dial.

Originally defined by an ovoidal metal frame encircling the central part of the flat two-tone dial, in 2020 the collection’s aesthetic canons were revised. It now features a dial with applied numerals on a flat outer track, and guilloché decoration for the center of the dial. Thus, Journe brought the model closer to the style employed in their Souverain line of watches.

That said, the present piece rises above its already incredibly sought-after peers as it is a highly uncommon “Boutique Edition” of the model in platinum with a blue dial, whose rarity matches its outstanding aesthetics. As any serious Journe collector knows, Boutique Edition pieces can only be acquired, as the name implies, at Journe proprietary boutiques, not through ADs. And even within the walls of these revered temples of horology, acquiring a boutique edition is no easy feat, as each boutique receives only a handful of pieces each year in the best case scenario, thus reserving them for their most distinguished clients.