pplater
5432
Power in reserve...
Of all the bells and whistles with which a watch may be adorned, one of the least appealing (from a personal perspective) is the power reserve, or 'reserve de marche'. Even so, it is undoubtedly a useful feature, and one which appears on quite a few of the watches in the watchbox.
Here is a particular favourite (not yet owned) - the philosophy being "if you have to have a power reserve, have the mother of all power reserves":
(photo by PPro moderator WHL)
That's a watch you might buy despite the power reserve. What watch cries out to be bought because of the power reserve? Well, not only because of the power reserve, but also because of the 'rawness' of that feature and every other element. This watch would be a final bookend to the collection (so thankfully there's little chance of ever getting one! 
):
):
(photo by Ian Skellern)
Well of course it's an Independent - what else did you expect? In fact, an Independent is responsible for one of the more cohesive iterations of the power reserve feature, and it is a credit to Purist 'Darren' who commissioned it, and Christian Klings who realised it:
(Darren's photo)
Wouldn't that be a lovely addition to any collection? From the personal collection, this is the PR which is most appealing (FPJ gets it right again):
But they come in all shapes and sizes, don't they? Front of dial, back of case; linear, arc, circular; in a window, on a hand, on a wheel; prominent, discreet.
Do you like the feature, or don't you? Which is the favourite PR in your collection? What is your favourite out there in watchland? Indeed, what is the most 'out there', in watchland?
Looking forward to your thoughts!
Cheers,
pplater.
Power in reserve...
Of all the bells and whistles with which a watch may be adorned, one of the least appealing (from a personal perspective) is the power reserve, or 'reserve de marche'. Even so, it is undoubtedly a useful feature, and one which appears on quite a few of th...
No photos
Because I cannot upload from iPad, but I have 2. Jaeger le Coultre's Master Control Reserve de Marche.... And think they did a good job with the dial. Lange 1, very recent addition. Where the dial layout starts off as novel and the power reserve is promin...
Here's one...
(well, two 'Ones' :-) ): Here the PR is not so obvious because there is a lot more going on that is relatively left field - the eccentric dials and the large date with sectioned windows, particularly. The whole is (in this case), the sum of its parts, don...
Someone mention JLC....
and I am happy to oblige. Not sure if it is "the" JLC you are speaking of but will give it a go Cheers, Cholack ...
Thank you for helping with the images
Mine is the WG with blue hands... 101.027x, so very similar to the one on the left. I think that the Lange1 is already an iconic watch.... And very happy to have it. Regards Gary
No doubt...
...as to what that left-hand needle does: it says so right there on the dial! Great shot, thanks. Cheers, pplater.
This is the one I have..
I think the dial is divine. Only quibble I have with it is my ageing / changing eyes struggle to read the thing clearly, esp the date. And I am young really! G
Power Reserves
Hi Pplater, Interesting topic to make a tour of this wellknown function/display/complication. When I started to take an interest in watches I didn't care about them at all. Today, whether its a manual or an automatic watch, it a very usefull indication fo...
Bravo, Mark!...
The RM is very agreeable, but the LM1 is an inspired choice for 'out there'. It could be hard to beat - and yet it is so important to the balance of the architectural dial, it is difficult to think what else Max might have done better in that position. We...
If we are talking about power of reserve
than this is my choice ;) Cheers mate Damjan ...
On a tangente
There's a power reserve there somewhere. :) And on my Habring2. The power reserve of a mechanical watch balances well with the "quartz like look" of a jumping seconds complication. Regards, Richard. ...
PR done right, or with a smile...
I really like the PR on the GO Senator Chronometer... But love the way Zenith did it with a smile on the original Chronomaster Open series... Blue ...
Good to see you, Blue...
You're right - those 'traditional' PRs (reflecting the old ships' chronometre style) usually look the goods. UN have long done an homage of that kind - From memory, SteveG has a bunch of this style PR. As for Zenith? Could never 'warm' to the open heart s...
I am not, generally, a fan of Power Reserve indicators... UNLESS...
Not a fan, because most of tem are on watches which have a 40 / 48 hours of power reserve, and genenrally automatic watches. So, as long as you wear them, they are automatically wound. Hence, I don't see the interest on watches with such a normal power re...
Ah, yes! IWC...
...(and should we have an IWC forum?). These are so integrated that they seem natural; necessary. With 7+ days of reserve, they are fun to play with - But the JLC? You are killing us - yet again. Cheers, plater. ...
Killing watchnuts is my job and my pleasure. And I can also defend myself. :)
As for the IWC forum, you know all the reasons why we don't have it, you Trouble Maker Confrere. Best, Nicolas
A client whose lawyer only defends himself is a fool? Definitely.
I don't have any PR watches which at times akin to a Moonphase watch. But PR watches at least tells u when to wind them up again, unlike a Moonphase. Do u need to howl when the moon is full? Damn that Breguet in the first pic looks good!!!
Clearly Albert was a happy man!...
Steve, you must have encountered myriad PR mechanisms. Which is your personal favourite? Which do you consider to be the most 'out there'? Cheers, pplater.
To me...
...the Futurematic wins. It's only the conventional crown that causes the Powermatic to come second.
I agree with you, pplater...
The PR function is not one of my favourite either... But like Nicolas pointed out - when the whole purpose of the watch is the power reserve it's hard to argue about it's existance! One of my favourite vintage PR-watches: Not my watch; but I had the chanc...
The only PR I have is on this JDN
I most appreciate the feature on manual winding watches and those with extended reserves, like the IWC Portuguese Automatics (5001 family of watches). Here is the only PR I own, though the eyes tend to drift down to the touribllon: Bill ...
The only power reserve you own?...
If that were the only watch you owned, you could still live a very contented life. It still mesmerises: in fact, it's so mesmerising that after many, many viewings it has only just become apparent that there's a PR there at all!! You demonstrated canny in...
I remember when you received that.
It is still one of the best tourbillons out there. I really enjoy seeing that watch, congrats again.
Power Reserve is only for hand wind
I agree with amanico. Power Reserve display is only useful for hand wind movements and especially for long reserves. The classic 8-day reserve 4-barrels stacked vertically and cross-linked is the Chopard LUC 1.98 from 2000. The triple-certified LUC Tourbi...
I don't agree with you.
I feel it very useful with automatic watches, it allows to check the winding efficiency. And believe me, with some movements, it is very useful... almost mandatory. Fx
Seems I am in minority on this one...
I quite like a PR indicator (but interestingly enough, I do not currently own a watch with such feature..) but to the contrary of most posters in this thread, I find it at least as useful in automatics with short "range" as in the 8day manual. I wind my m...
A brand not yet represented....
I have enjoyed owning this watch, but it can be a tad difficult to read under certain lighting conditions. The power reserve is fairly discreet. Unfortunately, when the watch is fully wound, the power reserve indicator blocks the logo. Nonetheless, I like...
A rare bird indeed...
...and a rare error on the part of Seiko to have it set up in such a way that the logo is periodically obscured by a functional element. Otherwise, though, the balance of the dial is terrific, and the 'ab/auf' symbols for the PR are very subtle indeed. Th...
One of my favorites
I am quite fond of this watch for a number of reasons, including the RDM indication. There is no mistaking a watch based on this underlying movement, whether it is a JLC, VC, or AP... A good friend of mine from Australia is not too fond of asymmetric dial...
A bit late to the party....
The power reserve is actually my favorite complication. Something about the fact that it automatically "activates" when the watch is wound (as opposed to a date or similar complication which needs to be set) is appealing to me. I also happen to like the l...
PR serves more as a decoration to me.
I make it a point to wind my watch everyday before I put it on my wrist. Lange 1 is an exception. Regards Ling
I like them reduced to the max...
like in this Blancpain with its open mainspring barrel. You infer the approximate reserve left from the winding status of the spring: Can a power reserve indication be any more direct? As a most welcome side effect this solution cleans up the front quite ...