Description
Reservoir, the small French independent that introduced itself to the watchmaking world in 2017 with jumping-hour and retrograde-minute dials inspired by fuel gauges, tachometers and aeronautical counters, has just taken the single biggest step of its nine-year history. On April 22, 2026, the brand revealed the Mark II series, a comprehensive redesign that moves Reservoir's identity away from "an interesting dial" and squarely into the territory of a complete, recognisable watch, with a fully integrated case-and-bracelet architecture that did not exist anywhere in the brand's catalogue before this.
The new Mark II is launched simultaneously across three emblematic Reservoir families — the GT Tour (automotive gauges), the Kanister (fuel-gauge and industrial manometers), and the Airfight Jet (aeronautical counters). Each of the three references shares the same 41 mm stainless steel case, the same integrated steel bracelet, and the same jumping-hour + retrograde-minute + power-reserve display driven by Reservoir's in-house-developed Calibre RSV-240 module. What differs between them is the dial language: three instrument personalities, one coherent family architecture.
What makes this launch notable is not the styling shift alone. It is the combination of an independent brand developing a genuine in-house complication module (113 parts), mounting it on a known quality-Swiss automatic base, and selling the entire integrated-bracelet package — with a jumping hour, a retrograde central minute and a power-reserve indicator — at EUR 7,200. That is value-for-money territory that very few brands with a serious mechanical story can match in 2026.
Design
The case is 41 mm in diameter and built in 316L stainless steel. Where Reservoir previously dressed its watches in relatively conservative round cases and let the dial do the talking, the Mark II takes the opposite approach: the case itself has become a design statement. Sharp angles, faceted surfaces, visible external screws on the flanks, and a geometry that references the mechanical and industrial universe that has always inspired the brand. Finishing alternates between satin-brushed and vertically-brushed surfaces punctuated by polished bevels, so that the light plays across the lines of the case in motion, rather than sitting flat.
The integrated bracelet is the centrepiece of the redesign. It echoes the angular construction of the case with the same alternating brushed-and-polished surfaces, and tapers into a matching folding clasp. Crown, clasp and caseback have all been redesigned to match this new visual language, every element carrying the brand's logo. The display caseback remains, framed by the same case architecture, so the modified La Joux-Perret base and the Telos-built complication module are both visible.
On the dial side, all three references share the same mechanical layout — a central retrograde minute hand sweeping an arc, a jumping-hour aperture, and a power-reserve indicator positioned at 6 o'clock — but each model wears the gauge personality that defined it before: the GT Tour delivers a tachometer-inspired reading, the Kanister echoes an industrial pressure meter, and the Airfight Jet channels aircraft cockpit instrumentation. Every 60 minutes, the central minute hand snaps back to zero and triggers the instantaneous jump of the hour aperture. It is a display that rewards the observer the way a real gauge does.
Specifications
- References: GT Tour — RSV01.GT/137 · Kanister — RSV01.KN/137 · Airfight Jet — RSV02.AF/137
- Case: 41 mm diameter, 316L stainless steel, brushed and polished finishes, visible external screws, screw-down crown
- Bezel: Integrated into the case, angular faceted geometry
- Crystal: Sapphire with anti-reflective coating; display sapphire caseback
- Dial: Retrograde central minute hand, jumping hour aperture, power-reserve indicator at 6 o'clock, instrument-inspired treatment per model
- Movement: Calibre RSV-240 — proprietary 113-part jumping-hour + retrograde-minute + power-reserve complication module built by Telos, mounted on a modified La Joux-Perret G100 automatic base
- Escapement: Swiss lever
- Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve: 56 hours
- Water resistance: 50 m
- Bracelet: Integrated three-link stainless steel, brushed and polished finishes, 20 mm lug width, folding clasp
- Availability: From June 2026
- Price: EUR 7,200 (shared across all three references)
What's Exciting
For a collector who cares about best-value mechanical watches with in-house complications, the Mark II is arguably the most compelling independent release of the post-Watches & Wonders 2026 cycle. Independent brand, proprietary 113-component complication module mounted on a known-good Swiss automatic base, integrated steel bracelet designed from scratch, jumping-hour and retrograde-minute display — and a starting price of EUR 7,200. That pricing undercuts almost every competitor with an integrated bracelet and a serious mechanical display by a factor of two to five.
What Reservoir has done with the Mark II is also what every small independent dreams of doing: evolve the identity beyond "the brand with the interesting dial" into a brand that is recognisable from across the room, by case silhouette alone. The three-model launch, each anchoring a different instrument heritage within the same new architecture, gives the brand room to tell three different stories from a single release — which matters commercially, because it means dealers, collectors and content creators all get a story to run with.
The only gentle caveats: 56 hours of power reserve is slightly less than what the G100 usually delivers (the module draws energy), and 50 m of water resistance is sensible for a dressy-sport integrated watch, not a desk diver. Neither is a compromise in the context of the price and the technical ambition of the complication module.
History
Reservoir launched in 2017 with a clear brand identity: jumping hours, retrograde minutes and a pilot-or-car-gauge aesthetic inspired by industrial instrumentation. The founding concept was that a wristwatch should read like a piece of machinery rather than a piece of traditional watchmaking. That positioning, combined with a price that stayed accessible for Swiss-movement quality, made Reservoir a favourite of the "indie-but-affordable" bucket alongside names like Louis Erard and Baltic.
Until April 2026, every Reservoir ran in a relatively conservative round case, with all of the design language invested into the dial and the gauge motif. The Mark II is the brand's first attempt to move its identity into the case itself, and simultaneously its first integrated-bracelet collection. For a nine-year-old manufacture to develop a proprietary complication module and ship a fully integrated case-and-bracelet collection at the same time is an aggressive product move, and signals a brand confident enough in its commercial footing to invest in a long-term architectural redesign rather than a one-off limited edition.
