Reservoir is a newer brand (starting up back in 2015), and it was a bit of fortuitous circumstances that brought them to my attention. In short, a few weeks back I had seen an Instagram story that showed the Reservoir Hydrosphere in action, and I was impressed with how smooth the retrograde function was. Then, a few days later, I had some information land in my inbox regarding the Reservoir Hydrosphere The Greg Lecoeur Edition.
While we will certainly be talking about the Reservoir Hydrosphere The Greg Lecoeur Edition, this will also be a bit of an overview of the Reservoir Hydrosphere in and of itself (this is just one of five editions). At first blush, the concept of a single-handed watch for diving seems like a not-very-good idea, as single hand watches don’t give you the precision you’d want for tracking a dive. However, you’ve got that central hand as the minutes hand, so precision is there. The big cyclops window down at 6 o’clock? Not a date, that’s your hour tracker. In other words, a single-handed watch that even I’d be down with.
As to the retrograde part of the Reservoir Hydrosphere The Greg Lecoeur Edition, that’s talking about in how the hand moves around the dial. Of course, it looks much like a gauge out of a dashboard or cockpit, going from 00 to 60. So, what happens when the hour is done? When it’s time to go from 60 to 00, the hand literally jumps over to the 00, and the hour flips to the next digit as well. All of this is done with a special module that sets on top of an ETA 2824-2 movement. While this isn’t the exact model, this video gives you an idea of how it works:
So, we’ve settled that. While I’m not a diver myself, this seems like it would work quite well as a tool to track your time, especially with the uni-directional bezel around the top. Gripping it should be easy enough, as the Reservoir Hydrosphere The Greg Lecoeur Edition is a 45mm watch, so you’ve got a good bit of surface area to engage with. Interestingly, it’s coming with a 250m WR rating (rather than a 100m or 300m rating), so that tells me they’re either being quite precise on where their seals are holding, or it’s not quite conforming to the ISO standards for give watches.
With the bronze of the case, the Reservoir Hydrosphere The Greg Lecoeur Edition is going to quickly show the effects of the waters you take it into – or even the air around you if you’re not actually diving. However, if you’re not a diver, this watch is probably not the one for you. Not that non-divers couldn’t wear it, it’s just that this particular edition (limited to 50 pieces) actually comes with a half-day dive with Greg Lecouer himself in September 2021 in France (you’ll have to get yourself there and arrange your accommodations).
For the watch – and that special dive trip – you’ll be putting down $4,850 for the Reservoir Hydrosphere The Greg Lecoeur Edition, which is a $550 premium over a comparable steel model in the lineup. Of course, you are getting that dive, and some of the proceeds are also going to replenish coral via the Coral Gardeners association. It’s an interesting bit of kit for sure, especially for those of you who actually dive. For me, I just like the mechanical innovation, and another approach to single-hand style. You can check the watch out, and order your own, over at reservoir-watch.com
Tech Specs from Reservoir
- 45mm, bronze Case with satin finish
- Blue dial with sundial finish, white index, magnifier on the jumping-hour window
- Self-winding mechanical movement, 37 hours power reserve
- Complications: Retrograde minutes, jumping Hour, Power Reserve
- Patented proprietary 124-pieces module on ETA 2824-2 caliber
- Anti-reflective sapphire crystal
- Unidirectional, ceramic rotating bezel with double scale for reading the time at different diving depths before and after the retrograde minute hand’s return
- Helium Valve
- Stainless steel screwed back, screw-down crown, watertight up to 250m
- Black rubber strap screwed onto the body
- Additional blue NATO strap provided, mounted on bronze stirrup
