These Luxury Watch Brands Boast Timepieces With Exceptional Power Reserves

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Providing extended periods of fuss-free operation, mechanical watches with formidable power reserves both save time and tell it

Do those magical, mystical crystals the so-called ‘new age’ folk swear by actually work? Who knows. The quartz crystals used in low-cost watchmaking, however, have well and truly proven their efficacy. In a quartz watch movement, a battery sends an electrical signal through a piece of crystal, driving the watch’s hands and functions. They’ll keep perfect time for three or four years, the life of the battery.

A watch’s energy, meanwhile, is stored in a coiled mainspring, and is released as this gradually unwinds, powering the watch’s timekeeping functions and other complications. The number of hours of energy the mainspring provides before it needs winding—or, in the case of an automatic watch, a decent wearing or a thorough shake—is known as power reserve.

We won’t go into greater detail about the science of mainsprings, because the minutiae of watch engineering are rather unsexy, technical stuff. If you’re curious to learn more, google ‘How does a mainspring work?’ and you’ll soon discover reams of reading as dry as a good martini and equally as stupefying. The important thing to know is, mechanical watches generally need powering up every couple of days—most quality mechanical watches have a power reserve of at least 42 hours. Some, however, far exceed that figure.

Panerai’s P5000
Calibre (Photo: Courtesy of Panerai) — Panerai’s P5000 Calibre (Photo: Courtesy of Panerai)

SIZE MATTERS

Panerai is known for its oversized watches, many of which boast large power reserves. The brand isn’t bashful about it, often boasting of the length of their mainsprings on watches’ dials or in their names—for instance, a few of our favourites from their current range include the Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic Bronzo, Luminor Marina 8 Days Acciaio and the formidable Radiomir 10 Days GMT Platinum. Panerai also produces pocket watches in white and pink gold with three-day reserves, should you be looking to put more power in your palm.