F.P. Journe's New Calibre 1300.3 Timepiece Counts Hours on a Titanium Human Hand

Watchmaker F.P. Journe has introduced a new timepiece, the Calibre 1300.3, capable of telling the time on an engraved titanium human hand. Inspired by a drawing from the famous French barber-surgeon Ambroise Paré, whose understanding of the human body is largely responsible for progress in medicine, the mechanized hand presents the 12 digits of the hour with just five fingers.

The timepiece’s creation dates back to 2009, when Eleanor Coppola gifted her husband, Francis Ford Coppola, the horologer’s Chronomètre à Résonance. The illustrious filmmaker, who was “delighted with the gift,” met with François-Paul Journe in 2012 to discuss new methods of displaying the hours, including by counting them on human fingers. In 2014, the watchmaker began prototyping the device, which was initially supposed to go on sale at Only Watch 2021. And now, the timeteller has officially arrived.

“The most important thing in watchmaking is what is least visible,” Journe explains of his process. “In this case, it was a matter of getting five fingers to move with the least amount of effort.”

In order to take energy only from the barrel, which features a power reserve of five days, the designer installed a “remontoir d’égalité” between the primary gear train and the display. For 40 minutes every hour, the mechanism, which features a spring blade, a trigger and an anchor mounted on one side, is rewound by the movement.

While the hours are told on the instantaneous hand, minutes appear on a more typical rotating dial. Both components are held inside a high-end case with titanium bridges featuring Titalyt® coating and circular stripes and steelwork with polished chamfers.

For more details about the Calibre 1300.3, head to an F.P. Journe boutique, and take a look at the timepiece in the gallery above.

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