Last night was incredibly exciting for the team at Horologii as we got to witness the live unveiling of Bremont’s latest limited edition watches. The new Bremont H-4 Hercules watches have been released as tribute to the iconic H-4 Hercules plane of the 1940’s. Famously known around the globe as the ‘Spruce Goose’, this vast silver ship was as legendary as its inventor Howard Hughes, an American genius with the ambition of building the world’s largest aircraft.
Bremont have released three variations of the Bremont H-4 Hercules watch to celebrate the engineering triumph that was the Hercules H-4 plane: a stainless steel, rose gold and platinum. Each of these breathtaking timepieces incorporate some of the original birchwood veneer within the automatic winding rotor that has come from the very plane that famously flew in 1947. The tungsten rotor, which can be seen beautifully through the exhibition case back, features the veneer from Howard Hughes’ H-4 Hercules in the shape of four propeller blades. This wood was not easy to come by and was made available only through essential preservation work on the H-4 before being carefully shipped to the UK from the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville Oregon, USA.
Bremont Co-Founder Nick English says, “Giles and I have been fascinated by the story of the H-4 Hercules since childhood. The sheer ambition of building an aircraft on that scale using wood is remarkable. The Hercules is a true engineering triumph that pushed the boundaries of aeronautical design. It paved the way for the large aircraft we use today, and did it with style, panache and just a dash of Hollywood.”
The story of Howard Hughes and the H-4 Hercules plane is one of wonder and it was all defined by one precious minute. This minute took place on 2nd November 1947 when the world’s greatest aircraft took its first and only flight across the Long Beach-Los Angeles Harbour. The media nicknamed the plane the “The Spruce Goose” due to its strong but lightweight wooden construction. To tribute this masterpiece of engineering, Bremont is releasing 300 pieces of the stainless steel Hercules H-4 watch and 75 pieces each of the rose gold and platinum variants.
The Bremont H-4 Hercules Limited Edition watches are also the first of their kind to feature the new Bremont BWC/02 movement, a calibre based on the original BWC/01 that was built in partnership with the movement house La Joux Perret. The automatic winding movement is displayed beautifully through the exhibition case back and kept housed within a 43mm case crafted from steel, 18 carat rose gold or platinum using the brand’s famous Trip-Tick case construction. The automatic calibre provides incredible GMT functionality alongside classic central hour and minute hands, a small non-hacking seconds hand at 9 o clock and a date window at 6 o clock. The BWC/02 also promises a power reserve of at least 50 hours, a frequency of 28,800vph and comes fitted with 25 jewels.
As well has boasting different case materials, each Bremont H-4 Hercules watch showcases different dial colours and strap designs. The Bremont H-4 Hercules Steel comes with a dashing black metal dial and a vintage brown leather strap while the Bremont H-4 Hercules Rose Gold and Bremont H-4 Hercules Platinum come with brown metal dials and luxurious brown alligator leather straps. All variants showcase Superluminova on the hour and minute hands.
Bremont have certainly not disappointed with their 2019 limited edition release and these stunning timepieces do a fantastic job of commemorating arguably one of the world’s most important aircrafts to have ever flown. Bremont have also stated that a percentage of proceeds that come from each sale of the Bremont H-4 Hercules watches will go to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum which is responsible for preserving the aircraft. Each watch also comes in special packaging which includes the original aileron fabric from the aircraft’s control surfaces sewn into the Englishmade bridle leather.
If you would like to get your hands on your own Bremont H-4 Hercules watch, you can order your own here.
Specifications: Bremont H-4 Hercules Limited Edition Watches (H4-Hercules-SS, H4-Hercules-RG, H4-Hercules-PL)
- Case Size: 43mm
- Case Material: Stainless steel, Rose Gold or Platinum
- Crown: Screw down
- Glass: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment
- Case Back: Exhibition, sapphire crystal
- Water Resistance: 100 metres
- Movement: Bremont BWC/02 automatic
- Functions: Hour, minutes, non-hacking small seconds, 24 hour GMT, date
- Power Reserve: 50 hours
- Jewels: 25
- Frequency: 28,800vph
- Dial: Matt black or dark brown metal dial with polished applied indexes, polished nickel or rose gold hands with Super-LumiNova
- Strap: Vintage leather or brown alligator leather strap with pin buckle to compliment case material
- Limited Edition: 300 pieces (Steel), 75 pieces (Rose Gold), 75 pieces (Platinum)
- RRP: £9,495 (Steel), £17,995 (Rose Gold), £24,995 (Platinum)
