Back in 2022, we shared the revival of the Hercules brand. Now in 2024, they sent us a watch to review and I have took the watch to Western Australia (WA) for an adventure. Now, join me as I share my after thought of the tantalum cased watch along with the breath taking views of WA.
Review: Hercules HP Watch in Tantalum with Ice Blue Dial
The Hercules Watch in Tantalum with Ice Blue Dial has a retail price of CHF 12,000. Four dial colour variations in white, blue, pink, and green are available in tantalum.
The HP1 is offered with two different movements, viz the double barrel hand wound movement in our review sample, and the other being automatic micro rotor movement. The watches are either cased in either 316L steel case or tantalum. Our review sample was the limited edition tantalum model, with the ice blue snow dial.
First Impression/ The Case
”Oh wow, such a big box” I gasped to Peter. It is a beautifully lacquered wooden box inlaid with the outline of Naga Parbat summit.
Once opened, the watch is beautifully presented along with a book on Hermann Buhl on his ascend up Naga Parbat. Certainly an impressive packaging. Once we got over being “wow-ed” by the huge box, we move on to the main character, the watch.
The Hercules HP Watch in Tantalum with Ice Blue Dial has a case size of 40mm and thickness of 9.4mm. Held in hand, the heft of the watch is significant. Tantalum is a very dense metal, and is relatively rare, being the Earth’s fiftieth most common element. The metal is named after Tantalus, one of the Zeus’ sons from Greek mythology. This mythology is also where the brand name Hercules is derived from. The Greeks used the proverb “Tantalean punishment” (Ancient Greek: Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι: Tantáleioi timōríai) in reference to those who have good things but are not permitted to enjoy them, and is the root etymology of the English word “tantalise”. The material is very hard with a Mohs hardness of 6.5 (gold is 2.8 to 4 while platinum is 4.5), has strong scratch resistance and best of all, it has hypoallergenic properties. The use of such material has risen in popularity in these two years but prior to that it is relatively uncommon in watchmaking.
The case measures 40mm in diameter, but looks massive and has a classical three piece construction. The bezel is large, and convex over an equally large bulging rounded case middle which gives the impression of a smooth round case. The lugs look like they are soldered, and rather short and curved inward toward the wrist. We find the greyish-blue colour of the material makes the watch stand out in a handsome way, exuding a masculine vibe. A character which we really appreciate. When complimented with the heft and shape of the watch, complements the intent of a hardy mountaineering watch. Damn nice, methinks.
The Dial
Moving onwards from the handsome case, we are greeted with an ice blue dial. The dial is designed based on the original piece from 1953. The ice blue dial is textured, inspired by the pristine serene blue clear ice during the first-morning walk in winter. Adriaan does not describe how the dial is made, but it looks either hand hammered or press embossed. Editor’s note on 13 September 2024: Adriaan confirm the dial is press embossed.
The hands are large javelin style and the center seconds hand is a long sleek number in a vermilion red. The minute and hour hands with the hour marker dots are lumed, and legibility is excellent in the dark as it is in good light.
The Movement
Hailing from the Swiss Jura of Vallée de Joux, the movement is a collaboration with Manufacture Horlogère Vallée de Joux. It is a hand wound double barrelled movement with an impressive 120 hours of power reserve beating at 28,800 bph. Each movement is Swiss Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres (COSC) tested and certified.
What intrigues us is the movement bridges. It features an engraving of the height lines of Nanga Parbat mountain. But more interestingly, the engravings are then filled with BRW9 SuperLuminova which glows in blue in the dark. The blue lume is chosen to signify the permafrost ice on the top of the mountain and has a mesmerising glowing effect.
The movement finishing is quite standard at this pricing range, which is to say that it is adequate and fit for the purpose of the engineering needs. Winding the watch, the feel is very smooth, with little winding sound or ratchet feel. Which to us, takes a bit away from the joys of a hand wound watch where the emotional connection is established with the feedback from the hand-winding process. A symbiotic process where one winds the watch and in return the watch keeps time.
The Strap
The strap which came in our review sample is a brightly hued in cognac/brown suede leather. It has a fuzzy/shaggy appearance which I feel is not the best material for a hard core mountaineering watch. I don’t feel it has the toughness to withstand the rigour and hard life in the mountains. Hercules does offer custom straps at no cost with the watch. Which is what I did. Well, I did not get their custom strap, but instead put one of my custom crocodile strap for the trip. I think it compliments the watch which makes it way more handsome.
Interestingly, the tang buckle is also made in tantalum. Kudos to Adriaan for taking this commitment and the attention to detail. The Hercules team could have just used a PVD on a steel buckle and call it a day. A practice of many watch brands but we are thankful that Hercules is not one of them.
Competitive Landscape
Mountaineering watches are a plenty on the market, it is almost seen in every other brands catalog from luxury brands to the more modest ones. It is a segment that has a rich history
First up, we have the robust mountaineering watch from Japan, the Seiko Alpinist. The Alpinist was first introduced in 1961 as the brand’s first ever “sports watch” with the fundamental idea that it will be a reliable timepiece for Japanese mountaineers. The latest iteration sits under the Prospex series of watches. It still offers an inner rotating bezel to operate as a compass and is powered by the ever reliable cal. 6R35.
Second, a mechanical watch that is worthy of the ultimate adventure watch whether we are mountaineering or in a safari wrestling with your beloved “pet lion”. Call up one’s inner Dean Schneider, and the Norqain Wild One is the one to have. The Kenissi movement is certainly a key feature, as is the construction of the case using their proprietary material. On top of that, Norqain also offers almost infinite (out of 3.5 million possible configurations) variations via their Configurator.
And of course there is Montblanc. Even the brand is named after a mountain. And they have many mountaineering styled watches to choose from. Our pick is the 1858 Geosphere Messner Limited Edition 262. The collaboration with legendary mountaineer Reinhard Messner is a big plus. This is a stunningly beautiful watch. It has the additional feature of being a world timer, with the Montblanc innovation of the two spinning globes showing world time. Cased in bronze, the graduated blue dial goes amazingly well with the case.
Concluding Thoughts
Overall, we found the Hercules HP Tantalum Ice Blue to be pretty interesting. The history of the brand and the watch is quite remarkable. The execution is nicely done for a brand that has only been revived for two years. It wears quite well on the wrist. At just 40mm in diameter, it is right sized for many. And we quite like the heft it feels when strapped on.
The highlights are the use of tantalum, the textured dial, and the rather interesting movement. We look forward to more offerings from Hercules Watches.
