Limited to 99 pieces, this F.P. Journe Byblos features the unusual combination of a tantalum case and openwork dial, exposing the elegantly finished rose gold movement, with all the pieces being individually numbered on the caseback.

The Origin Story

Produced in 2014, the F.P. Journe Byblos was madeas a limited series, numbered from 1 to 99. With its distinctive tantalum case and openwork dial, it was released to commemorate the opening of the brands tenth boutique worldwide, located in Beirut. The brand chose the Byblos name as an hommage to a city a few kilometres north of Beirut, which is the worlds oldest Phoenician port, which acted as an important cultural and commercial hub for many centuries.

The most striking feature of the Byblos is the openwork dial, something rarely ever seen on F.P. Journe watches, which usually have a more parred back design. Using the Chronomtre Bleu'stantalum case and deep blue dial as a starting point, the Byblosintegrates a range of interesting and noteworthy details throughout.

The Striking Openwork Dial

The openwork dial of the Byblos demonstrates Franois-Paul Journes intention to create a limited editiondisplaying more than just a tweak to an existing design, which can often be the case with these types of commemorative pieces. For the very first time, the rose gold movement is exposed on the dial side, with guilloch decoration adding texture to the warm metal. A perlage pattern is also found on some of the surfaces around the seconds sub-dial, offering a welcome contrast. Some exposed jewels and mechanical components also visually reinforce the richness of the overall design.

On the periphery, the Byblos adopts the familiar blue hour circle, with Arabic numerals, found on the Chronomtre Bleu. According to the manufacture, the design is meant to represent the radiant sun standing out against a Mediterranean blue sky. Another noteworthy detail is the unusual F.P. Journe signature, which is engraved directly onto the movement. The J is inscribed in the Phoenician alphabet, with the letter Yodh, which also means hand. It also happens to the the tenth letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which is a direct reference to the Byblos being created to celebrate the brands tenth boutique. The Byblos word is also engraved directly onto the movement, below the brands own name.

The Unusual Tantalum Case

Housed in a 39mm case, theByblosis one of very few watches to be produced in the rare, dark-grey metal, tantalum. With its distinctive colour and tone, tantalum is highly resistant to both corrosion and wear. It is rarely ever used in watchmaking, due to its difficulty to work with and how expensive it has become. Traditionally used in the medical and aerospace fields, the equipment needed to work tantalum needs replacing more frequently, often making the watches which integrate this unusual material all the more burdensome to produce.

Even with F.P. Journes own watches, tantalum is rarely used, only appearing in the Chronomtre Bleu, a small handful of unique pieces and the Byblos limited edition of 99 pieces. At just 8.6mm thick, theBybloscomfortably fits beneath a cuff, and is made distinctive bythe watchmakers signature flat crown. The watchs unique serial number is engraved on the caseback, in the XX/99-BYBLOS format.

The Movement

The movement is certainly independent haute horlogerie at its finest. The in-house Calibre1304is made entirely of 18-carat rose-gold, and seen through the sapphire caseback. The movement has two mainspring barrels in parallel, which work together, powering the movement. Most impressively, is the chronometric balance fitted into the movement, which helps to provide the accuracy thatF.P. Journehas based his watchmaking around.

The hand finishing is expertly conducted, mixing a combination of circular graining with sunburst and wave patterns. All screw heads are polished and all edges neatly chamfered with aCte de Genvemotif on the bridges.

The Set

This F.P. Journe Byblos is accompanied by its originalF.P. Journeinner box, outer box and Certificate of Origin. This watch comes on aParis strap with curved-ends (measuring 20 x 19mm) and its original tantalum buckle. The originalF.P. Journebeigealligator strap is also supplied.

Closer look