Time To Watches: Reservoir

Summary

The Real Time Show: Episode Summary – "Time To Watches: Reservoir"

Release Date: May 31, 2025
Hosts: Rob Knutz & Alain Ben Joseph

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Introduction

In the latest episode of The Real Time Show, hosts Rob Knutz and Alain Ben Joseph delve into an engaging conversation with Francois Moreau, the founder of Reservoir Watch Company. Filmed live from Geneva during one of the premier watchmaking events of the year, the episode offers listeners an insider’s perspective on Reservoir’s strategies, latest innovations, and experiences at the watch fair.

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Reservoir’s Presence at the Geneva Watch Fair

Francois Moreau kicks off the discussion by expressing his enthusiasm for being in Geneva, highlighting it as a pivotal time for watchmakers to engage with the market, journalists, enthusiasts, retailers, and distributors.

Francois Moreau [00:22]: "Very happy to be in Geneva. You know, this is the most exciting time of the year for watchmakers to meet the market, journalists, enthusiasts, retailers, of course, distributors."

He praises the Villa Saraza venue for its strategic location near Palexpo, which he believes enhances accessibility compared to previous locations.

Francois Moreau [02:10]: "It's a very professional fair... For us, it's a really professional B2B fair."

Francois reflects on Reservoir’s evolution in event participation, mentioning their initial challenges with venue accessibility and their strategic shift to more central locations to maximize engagement.

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The Importance of Novelties in Watch Fairs

A significant portion of the conversation centers around the necessity of introducing novelties at watch fairs. Francois emphasizes that showcasing new releases is crucial for maintaining brand relevance and generating excitement among attendees.

Francois Moreau [03:16]: "The market expects novelties. They want to see what is the traction. What kind of traction is the brand having? Is there anything new coming?"

Rob Knutz echoes this sentiment, noting the heightened anticipation and online buzz these novelties generate, particularly on platforms like Instagram.

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Reservoir’s Latest Innovations: The Popeye Series

Reservoir Watch Company has recently unveiled three new novelties, which Francois elaborates on with enthusiasm. The standout feature is the Popeye series, which merges playful character designs with functional watchmaking.

Francois Moreau [04:24]: "We're continuing to develop the comics by Reservoir range... We've done quite a large number of series of Popeye watches, like Popeye on a Camel in the Desert, or Popeye Playing Cricket... and a new series coming, Popeye Playing Badminton."

The Popeye watches are notable for their retrograde minute complications, where each hour features Popeye performing a different activity. This creative approach not only adds personality to the timepiece but also engages collectors and enthusiasts by offering something beyond conventional watch designs.

One of the highlights is the Golf Popeye watch, which integrates a golf swing motion into the time-telling mechanism. Francois describes how this design choice brings the character to life:

Francois Moreau [06:51]: "Every hour he's just swinging his ball in a very cool, you know, dial with green grass, hills and blue sky with white clouds. Pretty cool."

Additionally, Reservoir introduces new characters to enrich the Popeye universe. Sweepy, Popeye’s baby, serves as a whimsical indicator for the watch's power reserve, adding a charming touch to the watch’s functionality.

Francois Moreau [04:24]: "We've made this is a blue sandstone dial... and we've made a more elegant version with lab-grown diamonds, 64 diamonds, giving a very elegant, very feminine watch."

These innovations underscore Reservoir’s commitment to blending fun and functionality, ensuring their watches stand out in a crowded market.

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Hosts’ Feedback on Reservoir Watches

Alain Ben Joseph offers his admiration for Reservoir’s approach, emphasizing the brand’s ability to infuse fun into watchmaking without compromising on quality.

Alain Ben Joseph [10:04]: "Reservoir, a brand infused with fun, jumping hours, retrograde hands. And they brought the fun to the fair this year. They did a cool watch with golf."

He also notes the brand’s strong market presence, evidenced by the rapid sell-out of their golf-themed Popeye watch, reflecting ongoing consumer interest in playful and innovative timepieces.

Rob Knutz provides a more technical analysis of Reservoir’s designs. He commends the brand’s creativity and humor but also offers constructive criticism regarding the aesthetics of certain watch cases.

Rob Knutz [11:32]: "They require custom modules to display the time in the manner that they do... But there are some cases within the collection that I very much prefer. So I like the case of the GT Tour model... much more than I like the Long Bridge."

Rob highlights specific models that stand out, such as the GT Tour and Supercharged models, praising their robust and exciting case designs. Conversely, he points out that some models, like the Long Bridge and Fastback, could benefit from more dynamic case structures to enhance their visual appeal.

Rob Knutz [11:32]: "I think that the lugs of the Long Bridge and the canister, for example, are not quite as meaty as they could be."

Despite these critiques, both hosts agree that Reservoir has secured a lasting position in the watchmaking industry, ensuring that the brand remains both relevant and beloved by aficionados.

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Conclusion: Reservoir’s Future in Watchmaking

As the episode draws to a close, Francois expresses optimism about Reservoir’s trajectory, affirming the brand’s dedication to innovation and market engagement.

Francois Moreau [09:42]: "Thank you for treating me so well... Happy to catch up end of this week. Thank you. Great pleasure."

The hosts reiterate their support and excitement for Reservoir’s future endeavors, looking forward to the brand’s continued success and upcoming releases.

Rob Knutz [11:32]: "You're absolutely right. The brand is here to stay and long may their success continue. And I look forward to seeing whatever it is that they have to bring at the next major event."

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Key Takeaways

• Reservoir Watch Company is actively participating in the Geneva watch fair, showcasing their latest innovations and engaging with a professional B2B audience.
• Introducing novelties is crucial for maintaining brand relevance and generating excitement among industry stakeholders.
• The Popeye series exemplifies Reservoir’s creative approach, blending playful character designs with functional watchmaking innovations.
• While Reservoir’s designs are celebrated for their creativity and humor, there is room for improvement in certain aspects of their case designs to enhance overall aesthetic appeal.
• Both hosts affirm Reservoir’s strong position in the watchmaking industry, anticipating continued growth and success.

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This episode of The Real Time Show offers a comprehensive look into Reservoir’s strategic approach to watchmaking, their commitment to innovation, and their dynamic presence in the competitive watch fair landscape. Listeners gain valuable insights into the intersection of creativity and functionality that drives Reservoir’s enduring appeal.

Transcript

[Alain Ben Joseph]

Foreign.

[Rob Knutz]

Welcome to another edition of the Real Time show with me, your friendly neighborhood watchmaker, Rob Knutz. Our friendly neighborhood jeweler, Alain Ben Joseph. Sitting to my left and across from me, Francois from Reservoir Not Dogs. Not yet, not yet. Reservoir Watch company. How are you?

[Francois Moreau]

Very good, thank you, thank you. Very happy to be in Geneva. You know, this is the most exciting time of the year for watchmakers to meet the market, journalists, enthusiasts, retailers, of course, distributors. So it's. It's a real excitement to be here and I think Villa Saraza is a very nicely located place. It's a good setup, it's close to Palexpo and until the day we are in Watches, maybe one day, who knows.

[Unknown]

So that I'm sitting here opposite you. I remember the first time I've actually met you was at Time to Watches.

[Alain Ben Joseph]

At the Head when they were there.

[Unknown]

So you are very loyal to this organization?

[Francois Moreau]

Yes.

[Unknown]

How? Yes and no.

[Alain Ben Joseph]

Okay, you're back, let's say you're back.

[Unknown]

You'Re here, you like it? How's the platform for you?

[Francois Moreau]

The platform is great. Today we've been very busy and the distance is not an issue. The first time to watch is we made the first one, we made the second one. The first one we had a shuttle, our own private shuttle to bring clients from Pad Expo to the head. It was working, but clients were a bit grumpy, saying this is a bit far away and it's not easy to reach this. And the second year they told us next year we are not going to come again, it's too umbersome. So the third year we decided to go to Borivage. So we applied to Watches and Wonders. We are in discussion with them and we have reasonably hope that we can be there in the coming years. So we went to Beaurivage, went super well, not as in term of distance, not as cumbersome as the former head, but it was better but still far away from Palexpo. And when Time to Watch is and Christian told us that the have secured a site touching almost Palexful. They told us, would you like to join? And you say, you know, we're in makes sense.

[Unknown]

And here for you as a brand, is it equal parts retail press and consumers or how does the average.

[Francois Moreau]

It's a very professional fair. So you know, we are doing a lot of watch fairs worldwide, like Dubai Watch Week or CR in Mexico. And what we see is some fairs like Dubai Watch with typically is a B2C fair. You have a lot of collectors, a lot of buyers, a lot of watch enthusiasts. They want to engage with the brand, they want to see the novelties, they want to try the watches. And we are not there to sell, we are just here to support the market. Education here is really professional. So you have a lot of retailers, agents, distributors, you have a lot of press, of course, influencers, journalists coming, and you have a few collectors or buyers, but very few. So for us it's more. It's a really professional B2B fair.

[Unknown]

How important is it for you to bring novelties to these fairs? Can you do a fair like this without novelties?

[Francois Moreau]

I don't think so. I would not recommend it because the market expect novelties. They want to see what is the traction. What kind of traction is the brand having? Is there anything new coming? And you can see the excitement from all the influencers and the journalists is about what's new.

[Rob Knutz]

There's quite a lot of excitement on the Instagram chat, that's for sure. There's people tuning in from all over the world. We've got some nice little messages. There's some suspicious gentlemen from GOS Watches in Scandinavia. It says, I know this gentleman.

[Francois Moreau]

Hello there.

[Unknown]

Hello.

[Rob Knutz]

TTS crew says go guys, exclamation mark. We're being followed closely, or so it would seem from RTP nl. Thank you very much. Watch Pouch has a questions, has a question. What are the dimensions of. I believe he's talking about the Popeye watch that you were showing earlier.

[Unknown]

So. So maybe for our listeners to the podcast, we are doing trials by live streaming this as well. So that's where the questions come from. Maybe. Franco, tell us about the novelties for this podcast recording, please.

[Francois Moreau]

So this year we have. We have three novelties. Again, I think this is critical to. As a brand to exist and to emerge to show novelty. So we have done. Please go ahead. We are continuing to develop the comics by reservoir range. So this is, you know, reservoir. It's two universes. One is about measuring instruments coming from car dashboards, plane cockpit and so forth, or submarine control panels. And then we do comics. So we've done quite a large number of series of Popeye watches, like Popeye on a Camel in the Desert, or Popeye Playing Cricket. Or we have a new series coming, Popeye Playing Badminton. And of course, we had golf in mind because firstly, I love to play golf. I would love to play, well, golf, but I'm at least trying to play golf and still having fun. And then the golf is very aesthetic and works very well with retrograde minute complication. Gerald Gentan used that Very well. He made baseball, he made golf. Sorry. And it's a very. It works super well. It makes the character alive. Every hour he's just swinging his ball in a very cool, you know, dial with. Thank you sir. Very nice. You know, green grass, hills and blue sky with white clouds. Pretty cool. And then because we made a lot of Popeyes, Popeye was feeling a bit alone, you know, where is his girlfriend? So what we made is bring bringing him company by making the first olive oil. So that's Popeye's girlfriend. You can see the joyful heart jumping out of the shirt of olive. It's very typical of her. And then even the power reserve come with his baby called Sweepy. You have a small indicator of the power reserve and it's showing by his baby. And we've made this is a blue sandstone dye. So it's very special. Looks like a summer sky by night, you know, with a lot of sparkling stars. And then we've made a more elegant version which is this one with lab grown diamonds, 64 diamonds and gives a very elegant, very feminine watch. It's a 39 millimeter case. Pretty nice. We are very happy with this one.

[Rob Knutz]

That is gorgeous. That really, really works for that model. I love the dial layer and those diamonds do add a certain something to it. Very good. Very good indeed. So how do you feel the villa sound? Sound is performing in comparison to the previous location. Do you think that it's a better, more fitting space to host an event like this?

[Francois Moreau]

I think it's. I mean head was a good site. It was too remote. But from, you know, the organization itself and the layout of the place, it was working. Qu. I think this is better. You have more corners to meet and you have. Where you can have lunch here when you can just go for. Sorry. For a coffee or for a drink. Sorry, I took cold in the train and I think the atmosphere is very relaxed. You have 77 brands. That's quite an achievement. And it's a very mixed array of brands. You have very entry priced brands, but very dynamic. Young and keen to enter the market. And then you have upscale brands. So it's a very well mixed and I think the atmosphere is very good. Even the annex which is a bit remote, it's quite nice. I've been there this morning and I think it's good. It's a good site. A lot of people today very happy and No, I think it was the right call. And I love the Igloo by the way.

[Rob Knutz]

Yeah, we like the igloo as well. It's our new home. We feel very, very comfortable here. What do you think, Alon?

[Unknown]

I think it's awesome. Great vibes. I came here this morning. The sun was shining yesterday. All our friends that were setting off sent us pictures. So good vibes all around. So kudos to time to watches and I think it's a good move to bring it next to the Palexpo. I think it will bring more footfall and I think Francois will call you maybe after the weekend, because most consumers will come this weekend because Pal Expo doesn't open to the public before, so. And I think you'll have a lot of spillover effect coming here because it's literally 300 meters from entrance one. Yeah, well, we'll be here, so come give a visit if you hear this episode. If you're watching the live stream, Francois is waiting for you.

[Francois Moreau]

I'll be here.

[Rob Knutz]

All right, well, we might catch up with you a little bit later on in the week if we've got some more time, because obviously I'd love to hear how you found the fair, how it's all gone for you. And we want to invite you back to have another nip of whiskey before this gets drunk.

[Francois Moreau]

It's really delicious, guys. I'm well treated for that. It is not to have whiskey, but anyway, let's make a.

[Unknown]

It's Swiss, huh? Swiss whiskey. It's Lochat by Hakim El Kadiri, the owner of Elka Watch Company. He has two companies.

[Francois Moreau]

Really?

[Unknown]

Yeah. He's a busy man, so he made us the TRTS special.

[Francois Moreau]

47 degrees. You can feel it, but. But it's very, very sweet. Very, very balanced. Nice.

[Unknown]

All right.

[Francois Moreau]

Thank you for treating me so well. Thank you for. Happy to catch up end of this week. Thank you. Great pleasure.

[Unknown]

Thank you, Asoan.

[Francois Moreau]

Cheers, you guys.

[Unknown]

Now time to discuss one of our favorite brands, largely I think because of the people behind it, Reservoir Watches. Alan, you've got a great relationship with Francois, so why don't you take it away?

[Alain Ben Joseph]

Another nice French dude, Francois Moreau, founder of Reservoir, a brand infused with fun, jumping hours, retrograde hands. And they brought the fun to the fair this year. They did a cool watch with golf. Francois didn't come the first day to the glass igloo, so I wanted to get one for my dad because he's crazy about playing golf. But the watch sold out already, and I guess that says it all. Is the brand still relevant? Yes. Do people want still fun watches? Yes. And I believe it was a Popeye character. I blocked it from My mind, because it was sold out already.

[Francois Moreau]

But.

[Alain Ben Joseph]

I don't have much to add to that. They earned their spot in the watchmaking industry. And what I love is, doesn't need always to be so serious. And I do think we're nearing the end of craziness in the watchmaking industry. We see less collabs, we see less crazy stuff. But I'm happy that reservoir is here to stay. So those are my two cents. What did you think, Rob?

[Unknown]

Yeah, I think it's a remarkable success story. I think that they, I think they must have had quite a bit of cash behind them is what I feel when I see a brand like this that has a concept and not necessarily an easy concept to execute either because, you know, they require custom modules to display the time in the manner that they do. And they just sort of stormed into existence with a really tight message and good quality products with a lot of creativity and humor in the display. And yeah, it was a Popeye golf watch. Very cool. I mean, we've seen many golf watches because the, the golf club swing is probably one of the most natural things to indicate the time in this characterful method. One thing I will say about the watches themselves is, and I feel this oftentimes with brands that put the focus on the dial and the time telling method is that the cases sometimes aren't quite as edgy or exciting as I would like them to be. And I see you see this all around the industry. You know, the defense for it is brands can only do so much and maybe it's deliberately staged in that way so that the focus is all on the dial and the way that the time is communicated. And I understand that. I understand that you don't want to have your attention pulled in too many directions at once. But there are some cases within the collection that I very much prefer. So I like the case of the GT Tour model, the supercharged model as well, to be honest, much more than I like the long bridge. I think that the lugs of the long bridge and the canister, for example, are not quite as meaty as they could be. Same with the Battlefield is a great watch. It's got a great profile. It's got a lovely crown size and crown profile to it. I would certainly lean towards those models over things like the fastback, the Monza design one, which is like a, basically like a hockey puck on the wrist. That's cool. That's not for me, but that's really cool. I like that kind of thing. It looks like very little else. Not completely unique and standalone, but there are very few watches that utilize that bold Lugless design in the same way. What can I say? You're absolutely right. The brand is here to stay and long may their success continue. And I look forward to seeing whatever it is that they have to bring at the next major event.

[Francois Moreau]

It.