Renowned watchmaker, Franc?ois-Paul Journe, and legendary filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola, discussed an idea casually at dinner seven years ago – the result is this unique prototype.

Marking the 20th anniversary of the F.P. Journe Octa caliber 1300 movement, this timepiece features an automaton in the shape of a hand, powered entirely by the Octa movement’s mainspring. Considering that the mainspring was originally designed for standard hands that are far smaller and lighter in weight – moving the large hand with the same mechanism, was a far greater task that required many years of development to realize.

The minutes are driven by a rotating disk and the fingers – which appear or disappear instantaneously – indicate the hours by their position. The fingers were inspired by a mechanical hand created by Ambroise Pare? (1509-1590), the father of modern surgery.
“This watch was born in 2012 while having dinner at Francis Ford Coppola’s house in the Napa Valley. He asked me if it could be possible to tell time with a hand in a watch. I replied that the idea was interesting and required thinking about it. But how to display 12 hours with 5 fingers" It was not an easy matter and this complex challenge inspired and motivated me. Once I figured it out, Francis immediately sent the sketches for the fingers positions. After more than 2 years, I could finally focus on “Fecit”. After 7 years of de...