Hercules Tantalum – Custom Dial, Matt
Hercules Tantalum – Custom Dial, Matt
On 3 July 1953, Austrian alpinist Hermann Buhl became the first person to stand on the summit of Nanga Parbat (8,126 m) — alone, without supplemental oxygen, and with a Hercules watch on his wrist. The brand founded by Henzi & Pfaff, which equipped that legendary expedition, has been revived in Saint-Prex, Switzerland with a single purpose: luxury Alpinism, built on the original 1953 design.
The Custom edition opens the Hercules dial workshop to you: a matt tantalum case around a dial made to your specification — colour and surface executed to order, so no two pieces need ever be alike. Our showroom will walk you through the options after purchase.
Inside is the Hercules hand-wound calibre, developed with a manufacture in the Vallée de Joux: two barrels deliver a five-day (120-hour) power reserve at 28,800 vph, with 26 jewels and chronometer certification by Timelab (ISO 3159). Through the sapphire case back, the height lines of Nanga Parbat are engraved across the bridges and filled with BGW9 Super-LumiNova that glows glacier-blue in the dark.
Here the 40 mm case is machined from tantalum — a rare, dense, hypoallergenic metal with a deep blue-grey lustre that is notoriously difficult to work, finished matt and sandblasted with the flat surfaces polished. At 118 grams it has a presence on the wrist that no steel watch can match. Sapphire glass front and back, 100 m / 10 ATM water resistant, with a tantalum crown and buckle to complete the case.
Each tantalum Hercules is delivered on a calf-suede strap made to your order (material, colour and size of your choice) with a tantalum buckle, in a large wooden presentation box with Hermann Buhl’s book Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage, its chronometer certificate and a two-year international warranty.
Specifications
- Collection
- Tantalum
- Case Diameter
- 40 mm
- Case Thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Lug Width
- 20 mm
- Case Material
- Tantalum
- Crystal
- Sapphire Crystal
- Case Back
- See-through
- Water Resistance
- 100 m (10 ATM)
- Dial Color
- Made to order
- Movement
- Manual
- Caliber
- Hercules hand-wound calibre
- Power Reserve
- 120 hours (5 days)
- Functions
- Central Seconds
- Strap / Bracelet
- Suede Leather
- Strap Color
- Your choice
- Clasp
- Pin Buckle
- Warranty
- 2 years
- Reference
- HW.40.MTA.60.CL.BA
- Case Finishing
- Matt, sandblasted; flat surfaces polished
- Lug to Lug
- 46 mm
- Crown
- Tantalum with embossed logo
- Luminescence
- Swiss BGW9 Super-LumiNova
- Movement Design
- With Manufacture Horlogère Vallée de Joux
- Jewels
- 26
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Precision
- −4 / +6 seconds per day
- Engraving
- Nanga Parbat height lines, BGW9 Super-LumiNova filled
- Certification
- Chronometer certified by Timelab (ISO 3159), 100% Swiss Made
- Presentation Box
- Large luxury wooden box
- Included Book
- Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage by Hermann Buhl, included
- Weight
- 118 g