Rightly compared to the fuel gauge on a car, the power reserve shows how long a movement will continue to function before it needs winding. An elegant way to avoid running out of juice. Naturally, this complication applies only to mechanical movements, not quartz, and especially manual-winding calibres; an automatic movement, by definition, will continue to wind itself for as long as the watch is worn.
MeisterSinger : CHF 2,400
Excellent value for money from this watch whose single hand displays the time with five-minute precision. Additional indications are a date and a classic power-reserve indicator whose scale transitions to red when entering the danger zone.
Primatic in steel, 41.5mm diameter, automatic movement, date in an aperture, leather strap.
Panerai : CHF 10,100
A classic from one of the leading names in dive watches. While all the indications are perfectly legible in underwater conditions, the power reserve takes on potentially lifesaving importance when the wearer is ready to surface and needs their watch to calculate decompression times.
Luminor BiTempo in steel, 44mm diameter, automatic movement, GMT, small seconds, date in an aperture, alligator strap.
Jaeger-LeCoultre : CHF 20,600
A lesson in elegance, this dress watch is fitted with an extra-thin manufacture movement that powers the ultimate in useful complications. They are small seconds, in their traditional position at 6 o’clock, a pointer date at 2 o’clock and, at 10 o’clock, a power-reserve indicator graduated 0 to 40.
Master Ultra Thin in pink gold, 39mm diameter, automatic movement, small seconds, pointer date, alligator strap.
Zenith : CHF 25,900
A sophisticated chronograph with, on the inside, the legendary El Primero movement and, on the outside, the unique presence of glacier blue chalcedony for the twelve-sided bezel surround on a brushed titanium case. A rare choice for a sports watch, this stone reappears on the chrono counters and the power-reserve indicator – all neatly set against a skeleton movement.
Defy Extreme Glacier in titanium and chalcedony, 45mm diameter, automatic movement, chronograph, interchangeable rubber strap.
Chopard : CHF 27,000
Another supremely elegant timepiece whose subdued aesthetic belies the high-flying mechanism inside. The in-house movement is equipped with four barrels, resulting in a power reserve measured not in hours but days: 9 days, to be exact. Note that the indication is graduated 0 to 8, which leaves the owner of this L.U.C Quattro an additional 24 hours to wind their watch.
L.U.C Quattro in white gold, 43mm diameter, manual-winding movement, small seconds, pointer date, alligator strap.
Patek Philippe: CHF 70,000
One way to reach the collector’s grail is for a single timepiece to combine an icon (the Nautilus) with gold and a brown dial that beautifully balances displays for the power reserve, moon phases combined with a pointer date, and small seconds.
Nautilus 5712 in pink gold, 40mm diameter, automatic movement, small seconds, pointer date, moon phases, pink gold bracelet.
Louis Vuitton : CHF 415,000
A memento mori and a snake in three dimensions spring to life in this automata repeater watch. Jumping hours are conveyed in the skull’s forehead, revealed as the snake sways its head, while minutes are counted by a flick of its tail on a scale from 0 to 60. The sands of time trickle through an hourglass for the power reserve. Literally jaw-dropping.
Tambour Carpe Diem in pink gold, 47mm diameter, manual-winding movement with automata and repeater mechanism, jumping hours, retrograde minutes, alligator strap.
