British watchmaker Bremont has a well-rounded catalog including divers and military watches, but aviation themes remain at the brand’s core. The newest watch reflecting the founders’ love of flying machines, and especially historic ones, is inspired by the 1940s airplane nicknamed the “Spruce Goose,” which remains the largest “flying boat” ever built and was designed by famed American polymath Howard Hughes. Bremont is known for incorporating material from historic items, and in this case wood from the aircraft made it into the watch’s rotor, which is visible through a display case back.
The official (and no less fun) name for the plane was the H-4 Hercules, and that’s what Bremont is also calling their new limited-edition GMT watches. The H-4 Hercules comes in three variations in different case materials and dial designs, but all measure 43mm wide and 14.40mm thick with 100m of water-resistance. They’re powered by the brand’s proprietary BWC/02 automatic movement based on the Swiss La Joux-Perret BWC/01 calibre, which features a power reserve of 50+ hours.
Since the historic Spruce Goose is still very much intact, the birchwood veneer (not spruce) wood taken from its fuselage was the product of essential preservation work. (The brand’s signature (and rather cool) propeller-shaped rotor incorporates this wood.) The Bremont H-4 Hercules is limited to 300 examples in steel for a price of $11,895. Red gold and platinum versions will be limited to only 75 pieces each for $22,495 and $30,995, respectively.
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