Souscription FP Journe Octa Réserve De Marche

Souscription is often associated with Resonance and Tourbillon, but it was extended into the early days of the Octa range equally. In fact, they’re some of the most subtly excellent collector’s Journes made. After the success of first two models, Journe launched the Octa platform to prove that an automatic movement could remain thin, highly efficient, and technically uncompromised while adding complication. The Octa Réserve de Marche was the first model built on this architecture. The Souscription term refers to the handful of pieces delivered to early supporters during the brand’s first year of commercial activity, before regular-series production stabilized. Half was paid upfront, the other half at delivery. But most of the paying out is happening now, decades later.

A core part of the RdM’s appeal is its Calibre 1300, an early automatic movement designed entirely by Journe. Several fun facts stand out: the full-size, uni-directional winding rotor is made of 22k gold and offset to maximize inertia. The movement was engineered to deliver the same amplitude regardless of power-reserve level, inspiring the famous ‘constant force by architecture’ line from Journe. Cal. 1300 was originally conceived to support virtually any complication within the same footprint, which is why the Octa family could later house calendars, UTC displays, and even the Octa Lune without thickening the case. The earliest versions also exhibit machining marks, gear-train finishing, and bridge contours that differ subtly from later standardized finishing. And they're all raw gold dials. 

Production volumes for the Souscription pieces were extremely low, in the RdM only 20. These pieces typically feature brass movements, early dial typography, and hand-engraved ‘shallow’ casebacks bearing numbers that do not fully align with later standard Journe numbering conventions. Their rarity is compounded by the fact that many early customers were personal acquaintances of the brand or early patrons who kept their watches. To add the cherry on top, 38mm is the collector’s dream at moment and that’s what you’re looking at. These early examples capture the exact moment Journe was shifting from one-man artisanal production to a true manufacture with a collection—one of the main reasons the Souscription Octas have become some of the most coveted watches in the independent world.

The actual example coming to auction. Note this is white gold dial, the photo just makes it appear a bit warm. 

This example is number 17 of 20, coming to auction in a couple days now. The case looks great; one can loose these shallow engravings quite easily. The early white gold dials here can oxidize a bit, but that appears very light here. It comes with the full works as part of Phillips upcoming NYC sale.