FPJ CS dial evolution

[Nav01L]

I came across this video recently, which I particularly appreciated for the beautiful footage of the FPJ CS:

https://www.watchestv.com/watches-ne...n-2021-part-ii

But then something struck me as odd.

On my 2014 gold dial CS, the indexes are of one piece with the dial. This used to be a specific feature of the new FPJ gold dials, and in my mind, makes them especially cool.

As part of this process, the whole dial is ground down with a lathe, leaving only the shape of the numerals standing up. Then the dial is colored silver and the protruding numerals are sanded down and polished to regain their golden color and stand out from the background.

This results in numerals that protrude from the dial like applied numerals, but that are not “applied”. A byproduct of this is that the numerals, while shining in gold on their polished topsides, have the same color as the dial on their side walls, as obviously these can’t be polished.

Altogether a really cool technique and look that has come to define this iteration of the CS.

But intriguingly, the two watches in the video don’t have that trait. Instead, they look as if the numerals on them are separate pieces that have been attached to the dial, much like ordinary applied numerals would.

Does anyone of you happen to know if that is indeed the case and if so, when FPJ transitioned to this new production method?

If they really changed their manufacturing technique, there must be exceedingly low numbers of CS watches with the monobloc dial, as that would mean they only made it for approx. 5-6 years, while also making the standard printed dial at the same time.

On the generous assumption that they make around 200 basic CS every year across metals and sizes, that would mean perhaps 30 of these gold dials per metal and size. Over 6 years, there’d be no more than 360 watches per metal (38mm and 40mm), and that’s already a quite generous assumption.

Does anyone have any insight on that?