F.P. Journe Octa Chronographe Ref. C Octa Rose Gold Salmon Dial

A rose gold case and a rose gold dial plate make the fully warm version of the Octa Chronographe, and gold cases on this reference are scarcer than platinum ones. It comes from the brass movement years and disappeared along with them, which places it in the period collectors call early. Anyone assembling a run of early Journe chronographs will be looking for this one last, and paying close attention to condition on whatever example turns up.

The rose gold case is 38 mm and slim for a chronograph carrying a large date. Whitened guilloché silver counters sit in the gold plate, with the time off center and the date opposite them. Matched metals leave the guilloché to supply the only contrast, which is why the dial reads quieter than the complication suggests. It is the warmest Octa chronograph Journe ever put together, and gold cases from this period rarely survive untouched.