Power Reserve Query

I’m firmly convinced that many watch collectors have a “Top Trumps” approach to watches - the higher the specification, the better the watch; the watch with the highest score is (somehow?) the ‘best’ watch.

I also suspect that many of these ‘spec-chasers’ are more addicted to the dopamine hit of buying a watch than they are of the resulting watch. The ‘Top Trumps’ approach gives a justification for their fix (“But this one’s got a sapphire crystal and 98 hours of power reserve!”)

I think you might be só right

Long power reserve is useful when you don't like your watch to wear it every day (or you can't, for reasons).

At the same time, if I were to replace the 6R in my Alpinist for a 4R, it would feel like losing its soul. Alpinists and long power reserve belong to each other.

Short power reserve makes you wear that watch every day, or at least every other day, if you want to keep it going without a winder.

Long reserve can help you with laying it down - if the movement has a reasonably good isochronism. Which isn't always the case.

In all, I don't use the difference of a WR above 10 bar, they're effectively all the same to me and I prefer smaller and lighter watches anyway, so 10 bar can be even better than 20 or 30. Longer power reserve is a tangible advantage, but it's not a deciding factor when buying a watch.

Personally I think a long power reserve is pointless (for me)

It's like ridiculous top speeds on bikes, it's just a p*ssing contest IMHO.

Power reserve is totally pointless, as either I were daily, so maybe 8 hours overnight does the job, or it’s part of a rotation, so it’s still gonna need resetting. Ease of setting date and time is way better than 72hours power reserve.

It's only a problem when you have too many watch 😂

I myself prefer 4hz smoother second hand rather than longer power reserve (eta 2824 vs powermatic80)

And sometimes longer power supply might cause rather erratic behaviour (seiko 6r35 vs 6r15)

If you're worrying about power reserve, either buy less watches (ideally one automatic and keep wearing it) or go quartz, preferably solar quartz.

If you're not willing to interact with your watches from time to time (winding and/or setting them), you might want to reconsider your hobby or buy a winder.

I like a watch to have at least 100m of WR and roughly a 48 hour power reserve because I don't like worrying about water getting in and I want to be able to take my watch off Friday evening after work and put it back on Sunday evening and not have to set it. Other than that I don't really care about stats. Is 72 hours power reserve, or 120 or whatever, nice? Sure. Does it matter to me? No, I'm not wearing a moon phase perpetual, I can always just wind and set. Is 300m WR, or 1000m or whatever, nice? Sure. Does it matter? No, the bottom 96m are already going to waste on me, why would I need more than that?

So long as it doesn’t stop while I’m wearing it I couldn’t care less. if it’s hand wound I’m going to wind my watch before I put it on in the morning. If it’s an automatic I set them and give them a wind before I put them on. Now when it comes to quartz watches the longer the battery life the better my tunas last around five years and the sinn UX is between 7 to 10 years. I have a gshock that lasted 17 years before the battery ran out. I changed it in 2017 and it’s still going strong on only its second battery in 24 years

I truly don’t get the obsession with power reserve. How long does it take to set or wind a watch when it has stopped?

This is a hobby that by definition is centered around inefficiency as opposed to utilitarianism. So the idea that someone wouldn’t buy a watch based on the power reserve is just mind boggling to me personally.

Also winders exist. So there’s that.

Excuse me? Top speed has no meaning?? On public roads???

How can you say such a thing 😱

Really only matters as you stated for spec chasers and/or those with 1-2 watches.

Otherwise most will wind down by the time you wear them again.

Shh, don't wanna get nicked- I'm a fine upstanding law abiding fellow..😜👍🏻

Thank you. That’s insightful

That’s what I though too

I have 17. Too many? ;)