It’s no secret watches do more than just tell time. The new Reservoir Kanister Silver is a good example: It puts you in the driver’s seat every time you glance at it. With its unusual dial layout and sleek silver and white colorway, it evokes the styling and story of one of the most iconic sports cars ever produced: Porsche 356 Speedster. This is a watch that looks fast and, with its jumping hour hand, features design and timekeeping complications inspired by the gauges of a classic Porsche.
The mystique around the Porsche 356 is strong. James Dean famously owned and raced one, and restored 356s sell for six figures nowadays. With its sleek, flowing lines, balanced handling, and minimalist interior, the 356 was a true driver’s car—no gimmicks to distract you from the road. Even decades later, the car still looks fast, and it makes a great point of inspiration for a watch, too.
Reservoir watches are a particularly good fit for this kind of tribute. Take one look and you’ll notice none have the familiar twelve-hour layout you see on nearly every other timepiece. Instead, they utilize a retrograde minute setup, where the minute hand starts at zero, counts up to 60, then jumps back to zero at the top of the hour. A counter in a window at the bottom of the dial keeps track of the hour. Notably, this method of telling time means the watch mimics the sweep of a speedometer or RPM needle on a car’s dashboard.
The Reservoir Kanister Silver takes its inspiration from the RPM gauge on the 356. Its 41.5mm case is made from polished titanium for low weight and exceptional strength, and the typical Reservoir layout gets refined with a white dial and silver polished hands and indices.
Another aesthetic nod to the Porsche, the watch’s power indicator (located along the bottom of the dial) is styled to look like a fuel gauge, with a red mark on the right side to denote low power instead of a nearly empty gas tank. Fortunately, refilling the tank on this watch just means giving the crown a few twists, no expensive gas required.
In keeping with the Porsche’s understated good looks, the Kanister Silver is paired with simple black or taupe leather straps that let the eye focus on the dial and the polished case.
Just as a car without an engine is just a hunk of metal, a watch is nothing without its movement, and the Reservoir Kanister Silver has a good one. It comes with a Swiss-made Caliber RSV240 mechanical movement with automatic winding, and it boasts a power reserve of 56 hours (you can get a good look at it through the watch’s transparent case back). It’s also waterproof to 50 meters, so splashes and rain won’t pose any problems…hard to say the same about the open-topped 356 James Dean drove.
Can’t nab your own 356? This watch might be the next best thing.
[$4,350; reservoir-watch.com]
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