The Reservoir Blake & Mortimer “By Jove!!!” Edition

Like it or not (and it’s totally understandable not to embrace the concept), there’s something oddly attractive about the concept of comic character watches. Gerald Genta – and his Mickey Mouse watches with retrograde and jumping displays – is certainly no stranger to this genre, as we’ve seen recently. And there’s another brand that has an entire collection built around this kind of display too… Using the cool Reservoir concept for a comic character watch feels natural. And on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the appearance of the comic characters Blake and Mortimer, the brand is about to celebrate the two heroes. By Jove!!!

The first time these two emblematic characters made their first appearance was on 26 September 1946, in the first issue of the weekly comic book series, Tintin. And the duo became cult characters with nearly 15 million copies sold over the years. The series chronicles the adventures of Captain Francis Blake, a former Royal Air Force pilot who became director of the MI5, the British counterintelligence service, and his friend Professor Philip Mortimer, a specialist in nuclear physics and one of the UK’s most eminent scientists. The two heroes often find themselves confronted with their nemesis, Colonel Olrik, a world-class criminal who considers only his personal interests.

“Blake and Mortimer are old-fashioned heroes: they throw themselves headlong into the adventure to save the world“, explains François Moreau (Founder and CEO of Reservoir). The handsome officer with the physique of a young pioneer and the iconoclastic scholar with the red beard were featured in 22 albums, depicting adventures, action and also a certain crazy inventiveness. The author, E.P. Jacobs, who was close to Hergé (creator of Tintin), liked the excessiveness expressed in the comic’s scientific inventions, including the famous Swordfish. Yes, Blake & Mortimer might be slightly outdated today but really, these stories were fascinating.

The concept of a comic character watch seems to be staging a comeback. Recently we saw Genta’s iconic Mickey Mouse watch brought back by Bvlgari, a watch that found immediate success. It’s an odd and very bold concept, which will certainly attract only a fraction of the collecting community, but these watches are especially appealing when the characters form part of the animation on the dial. And since Reservoir has been built around a proprietary module that displays jumping hours and retrograde minutes, the rest was only about finding the right amount of creativity to make Blake & Mortimer appear on the dial.

Housed in a steel case of 41.5mm, the Reservoir Blake & Mortimer “By Jove!!!” Edition revives the characters on the dial. On top of a matte grained black background, you’ll find the two characters printed with Blake’s arm indicating the passing of time, while at his feet, in a window, the hours pass. To be coherent with the theme, all tracks and markers adopt a comic-like font, produced in high-quality serigraphy and the characters stand out as if in relief on the dial. Finally, in a box on the right, there’s the famous “By Jove!!!” – Mortimer’s favourite expression.

The Reservoir Blake & Mortimer “By Jove!!!” Edition retains all technical specifications of previous Reservoir watches, including the movement composed of an ETA 2824 base with a proprietary module on top for the jumping/retrograde display composed of 124 parts. The watch is worn on a black leather strap with a triple folding clasp.

The Reservoir Blake & Mortimer “By Jove!!!” is a limited edition of 75 pieces, priced at EUR 2,990. It is now available for orders from the brand’s website and deliveries will start from 19 November 2021, which is the release date of the last opus of the adventures of our two heroes “The Last Swordfish“. For more details and orders, please visit www.reservoir-watch.com.