Reservoir GT Tour Racing
The Reservoir GT Tour Racing and the Reservoir GT Tour Spring Lap are the latest creations from the ‘Franco-Swiss’ Maison. Upholding the design language of its earlier rev-counter-inspired models, Reservoir has enhanced these references with upgraded finishes and incorporated the firm’s new Reservoir RSV-240 caliber.
Reservoir depuis 2017
Founded in 2017, Reservoir has enjoyed a meteoric rise since bursting onto the watch scene and its models have enjoyed widespread critical acclaim.
If you trace the history of several clock and watch producers, you will discover that some of them also made aircraft cockpit gauges, car dashboard instruments and other forms of indication. The ‘Franco-Swiss watchmaker’, Reservoir, has evolved this historic relationship, looking at various dashboard dials, both past and present, as a source of inspiration when designing its range of luxury watches.
The automotive, aeronautical and marine worlds have fuelled the brand’s imagination, culminating in the release of some stunning models. However, the brand has also looked beyond these sectors. For example, it recently released the Sonomaster Chronograph, a timepiece that emulates the appearance of a traditional analogue VU meter.
Beyond said inspiration, Reservoir has also employed some ingenious methods of communicating with the wearer, including jumping hours and retrograde minutes, delivering a successful combination of form and function.
Now, the brand has revisited one of its popular collections, releasing the Reservoir GT Tour Racing and the Reservoir GT Tour Spring Lap.
Reservoir GT Tour Spring Lap
Subscribing to the codes of the ‘classic car race’, the GT Tour Spring Lap sports a matte black dial with green accents. A dominant green needle-like hand converses with Arabic numerals and crisp markings atop a snailed track, each positioned at 6-minute intervals. The bold Arabic numerals resemble the numbers found on a car rev counter. Once every hour, as the hand kisses ‘6’, it flicks back to its point of origin and the arcing journey begins anew.
The prevailing hour is shown using black numerals set against a white backdrop. Every time the minute hand returns to zero, the hour disc jumps, succinctly imparting meaning. At the base of the dial, a fuel-gauge-style display shows the available energy stored within the barrel.
Housed in a 43mm steel case, the model is available on a steel bracelet or perforated black calf leather strap with green stitching. The watch also comes supplied with an additional NATO strap.
Reservoir GT Tour Racing
The Reservoir GT Tour Racing looks more contemporary than the GT Tour Spring Lap, supplanting the green hues for ebullient red accents. Moreover, the model eschews the aforementioned matte black dial in favour of a woven carbon-fibre dialscape. These changes, subtle on paper, imbue the GT Tour Racing with a wholly different character.
Again, the would-be wearer can specify their timepiece with a steel bracelet or calf leather strap.
Reservoir RSV-240 caliber
The jumping hours, retrograde minutes display and power-reserve indicator have always been defining characteristics of Reservoir watches. At the outset, the company used its own module, the P068, created by Telos, a specialist producer of watch mechanisms, located in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In the early days, this module was paired with an ETA 2824-2.
However, in 2022, Reservoir revisited the module and upgraded it, naming it the P168 module. This coincided with moving to a superior base calibre from La Joux-Perret, the LJP-G100. The resultant automatic movement, the Reservoir RSV-240 caliber, proffers an increased power reserve of 56 hours and features within the new GT Tour Racing and GT Tour Spring Lap.
Closing remarks
Lucidity and intelligibility are essential requirements of any aircraft instrument, rev counter or depth gauge. Indeed, in a pressurised setting nothing must impair legibility or understanding. The new Reservoir GT Tour Racing and the Reservoir GT Tour Spring Lap fulfil these latter requirements admirably, presenting the hours, minutes and power-reserve in a highly original and practical format.
Since it was founded in 2017, Reservoir has displayed an impressive degree of creativity, releasing a varied collection of models that look decidedly different from those offered by its competitors. Moreover, when you begin to look around, there are numerous instruments that could one day prove additional sources of inspiration for this luxury marque. In fact, with its proven record of reimagining familiar instruments, the future for Reservoir looks very bright indeed.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Reservoir GT Tour Racing
- Reference: RSV01.GT/130.CA (perforated racing black calf leather strap)
- Reference: RSV01.GT/130.CA_BA (metal braclet strap)
- Case: 316L stainless steel, diameter 43 mm, water resistance 5ATM (50m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: jumping hours, retrograde minutes, power-reserve indicator
- Movement: Reservoir RSV-240 caliber (LJP G100 base + proprietary module), self-winding movement; frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz); power reserve 56 hours.
- Price: RSV01.GT/130.CA – £4300 including taxes (RRP as of 5.5.2023)
- Price: RSV01.GT/130.CA_BA – £4800 including taxes (RRP as of 5.5.2023)
- Model: Reservoir GT Tour Spring Lap
- Reference: RSV01.GT/130.SL (perforated racing black calf leather strap)
- Reference: RSV01.GT/130.SL_BA (perforated racing black calf leather strap)
- Case: 316L stainless steel, diameter 43 mm, water resistance 5ATM (50m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: jumping hours, retrograde minutes, power-reserve indicator
- Movement: Reservoir RSV-240 caliber (LJP G100 base + proprietary module), self-winding movement; frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz); power reserve 56 hours.
- Price: RSV01.GT/130.SL – £4300 including taxes (RRP as of 5.5.2023)
- Price: RSV01.GT/130.SL_BA – £4800 including taxes (RRP as of 5.5.2023)