In 2010, Carl F. Bucherer added a power-reserve indicator to its Patravi EvoTec watch, launched the year before, thus creating the Patravi EvoTec PowerReserve. WatchTime gives the watch and its in-house movement a thorough once-over in the May-June issue 2012 issue. Click here to read the story and see stunning photos by Zuckerfabrik Fotodesign.
There’s no missing watch’s power-reserve display: its bright red, yellow and green make it stand out like a traffic light against the watch’s black dial. The automatic caliber CFB A1002, based on the A1000, Carl F. Bucherer’s first in-house movement, ticks beneath the dial, powered by a rotor that runs in circles around the movement’s outer edge and is the best-known feature of the A1000 family of calibers.
The watch has a highly domed, sapphire crystal. The case, water-resistant to 50 meters, is made of steel. Despite its ample size (44 by 45 mm) and hefty weight (139 grams), the Patravi fits well on the wrist.
The smell of the natural rubber coating on the crown and bezel detracted a bit from the wearing pleasure of the watch, but the rubbery odor diminished as our review progressed. The good thing about the rubber on the crown is that it creates a soft surface that is easy to grasp. (Click on photos for larger images.)
However, when the hands have been set to show the correct time, pressing the crown back into its closed position causes the minutes hand to jump. Overcoming the play in the minutes hand requires a bit of patience. Not only must the hand be manually adjusted back and forth; the crown, too, has to be closed very carefully and along an exact vertical axis.
The calfskin strap adds to the good fit; although its padding was a bit stiff at first, the strap soon became more flexible. The strap also keeps the clasp well away from the inside of the wrist, thus preventing scratching. The strap and clasp have a solid feel. They both work well, once you learn how to slide the end of the strap through the clasp correctly. The process isn’t intuitive, but it does assure a secure hold and a precisely adjusted length. Screwed sprung crosspieces make it easy to remove one strap and insert another. The only criticism we had about the craftsmanship of the strap was that we found a bit of excess glue on the leather of the lining.
The craftsmanship of the dial is nearly flawless: the only drawback was the somewhat fuzzy printing on the day display. High contrast and ample space between the strokes on the scales ensure that the time can be read instantly and accurately. The inner ends of the markings follow the contours of the pillow-shaped case, and the minutes and hour hands have sharp points that contribute to good legibility. The tips of these hands glow in the dark, as do the hour indices, which are so widely spaced that the time can be estimated more or less to the nearest minute, except when the minutes hand is passing through the dark arc next to the power-reserve display. The small seconds, day, date and power-reserve display all disappear at night.
