India is amidst its most festive time of the year, and with many watch brands creating special editions for India, Chronoholic joined hands with independent Swiss microbrand HP Hercules to create the Char Dham Project. The four-watch collection honours the sacred pilgrimage sites across the four cardinal directions of the country: Badrinath (Uttarakhand) in the North, Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu) in the South, Dwarkadhish (Gujarat) in the West, and Jagannath (Odisha) in the East.

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Four temples, four handcrafted dials

The Char Dham collection takes its name from the Hindu concept of Char Dham Yatra, which is associated with the pursuit of moksha, or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. The four temples are also connected in the project’s presentation of the four Yugas, the cosmic ages in Hindu cosmology, with each watch representing one sacred site. Badrinath is connected with the Satya Yuga and its dedication to Lord Vishnu. Rameswaram is associated with the Treta Yuga and the story of Lord Rama offering prayers to Lord Shiva before his journey to Lanka. Dwarkadhish is linked to the Dvapara Yuga and Lord Krishna, while the Jagannath Temple represents the project’s fourth sacred destination.

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Dr Karan Madan, Director of Chronoholic, says, “The idea of a collaboration needs to be handled carefully, because there is always the risk of overdoing the 'India' bit. When HP Hercules brought us the first inklings of the theme, we at Chronoholic knew that the spirit of mountaineering, of adventures, of fulfilling journeys – what HP Hercules is known for – absolutely had to be incorporated in the watches that have scaled Nanga Parbat and Everest.” He adds, “The Char Dhama Yatra is integral to the Hindu way of life, to the soul of a karmic being, in the quest to attain moksha. To present our own interpretation of the four Yugas – the four temples – on a set of watches that can be worn, made extremely personal, and appreciated up close is an honour.”

This spiritual journey has been carved out on silver dials, individually engraved by hand, and carefully filled with enamel colours to bring the temple artwork to life.

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Case and straps

Making the project even more special, three material options have been offered for the watches. The sets can be crafted in 904L stainless steel, tantalum, or gold, and will be produced in very limited numbers.

The case dimensions are kept at 40 mm for the diameter, 9.4 mm for the thickness including the crystal, and 46 mm from lug to lug. It has a three-part construction with the bezel, middle case, and caseback, all screwed together. The steel versions are finished using aged, polished, brushed, and sandblasted techniques. A sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating on the inside protects the dial, while the water resistance of the watches is rated at 100 metres, or 10 ATM. Each watch comes with a nubuck-leather strap, and every set includes four additional FKM rubber straps.

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Mechanics

The heartbeat of the four timepieces is a hand-wound mechanical movement developed in collaboration with Manufacture Horlogère Vallée de Joux. Officially chronometer-certified under ISO 3159, the movement offers an impressive 120-hour or 5-day power reserve and beats at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. It measures 30 mm in diameter and 3.90 mm thick, with 26 jewels, and powers the three-hand function of the watch. The movement finish has been taken care of with Côtes de Genève decoration, visible through the anti-reflective sapphire crystal caseback.

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Availability

The information on availability, pricing, and the ordering process can be obtained by contacting info@herculeswatches.com, karan@chronoholic.in, or anirban@chronoholic.in.

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