With a history extending for over a hundred years to 1902, Schwarz Etienne are a stalwart of the Swiss watch industry. That heritage is relevant because earlier this year they launched a brand-new collection called the 1902. The debut model in that collection was the Petite Seconde and now for the summer they’ve released a follow-up in the form of the Schwarz Etienne 1902 Réserve de Marche.
If you’re fluent in your French, you’ll know that Réserve de Marche translates to Power Reserve, a reference to the signature indictor that’s located between 1 and 2 o’clock on the new timepiece. It’s not rocket science to work out that a power reserve indicator tells you how much power remains stored in a watch’s mainspring, and consequently when it will run out.
It’s particularly useful on a manual-winding watch because it serves as a reminder that you need to take the time to actually wind the watch. Though with the 1902 Réserve de Marche’s 120-hour power reserve you have roughly a 5-day grace period between top-ups. The calibre MSE 311.00 achieves such an impressive reserve by utilising a double barrel system in parallel. You can view them through the exhibition caseback alongside the gorgeous, straight line Côtes de Genève finishing.
Beyond the addition of the power reserve indicator function, the watch is more or less identical to the previous 1902 Petite Seconde model with a few minor alterations. It measures the same 39mm x 10.9mm in proportions and is made from titanium – an unusual material choice for a dress watch. The display features an Art Deco inspired sector layout with a central grained disc encircled by the hour scale (split between rhodium plated hour markers and Arabic numerals), which is in turn encircled by a minute track.
There are two versions of the 1902 Réserve de Marche being produced, one with a silver tone dial and the other with a 4k gold dial. Personally, I prefer the more restrained appearance of the silver rather than the gold which feels a bit too yellow and intense. If it were more of a rose tone to lean into the salmon vibe in combination with the titanium case it would work much better. Though ultimately the main disappointment is the lack of an anthracite grey edition like we had with the standard model, which would have looked stunning with the extra dial details.
Priced at CHF 19,500 (approx. £18,000) it’s certainly a prestige watch. Though if you hadn’t already gathered that from the immaculate movement with 120-hour power reserve and double barrel as well as the gold dial on one of the options, that’s probably on you.
Price and Specs:
More details at Schwarz Etienne.
