[dropcap size=small]S[/dropcap]ome people enjoy the daily ritual of winding their watches. Others, well, might not derive quite as much joy from the process. And for the most part, mechanical watches can’t be left on their own over a weekend before their energy is sapped, with typical timepiece power reserves usually maxing out at 50 hours.
A watch’s power reserve is the measure of how long it can run after its mainspring — a ribbon of metal housed in a flat cylinder with gear teeth (called a barrel)— is fully wound. While there have always been certain watch models with longer power reserves, this feature is finally becoming more common, with several new timepieces this year offering greater energy storage at not-much-greater price points.
One of my personal favourites from Baselworld 2016, the Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 has simple, strong and very cool skeletonised lines inspired by Meccano children’s construction sets. One full wind will keep this watch ticking for a good ten days. This is made possible by the HUB1201 movement’s two mainspring barrels, instead of one.
