Precision Winter 2020: HERO-ERA Wristwatch

We all know that cars and watches go together like a horse and carriage so it’s no surprise that classic rally organiser HERO- ERA is dipping a toe into the world of horology with the launch of its very own, Swiss-made watch designed specifically for adventurous drivers. Made by private label manufacturer Alatron, which anonymously produces timepieces for several of the biggest luxury brands, the 44mm watch can be bought with a plain, polished steel case or finished in a stealthy black PVD treatment.

Cushion-shaped and with a round dial, it features an aluminium 24-hour bezel that’s divided into light and dark halves. These represent night and day and work in tandem with a bold additional hour hand to provide a second time zone reading, making the watch ideal for use on the type of multi-week, transcontinental rallies for which HERO-ERA is famous.

A self-winding mechanism from the tried and trusted Swiss movement manufacturer Soprod lies beneath the dial, which carries brass hands and applied numerals filled with glow-in-the-dark SuperLuminova to enable the watch to be used during those gloomy night stages.

The attractively textured dial has a date window at the three o’clock position and is topped-off with discreet HERO and ERA logos in the top half, while turning the watch over reveals a transparent case back that affords a decent view of the movement.

Water resistant to 50 metres, it’s billed as ‘a useable adventurer’s watch’ and is supplied on a choice of black or brown crocodile-skin straps, which are perforated in the classic driving style.

For a genuinely Swiss-made GMT automatic, it’s reasonable value at £1,300 (complete with leather travelling pouch), and £100 from the sale of each of the first 200 number-stamped and certificated editions will be donated to Britain’s hospitality industry via HERO-ERA’s Hero2Help philanthropy programme.

Hero2Help has already raised more than £20,000 that has been shared between the NHS and StarterMotor, an Oxfordshire-based charity that helps engineering apprentices gain access to classic cars in order to ensure the future of the historic-motoring industry.

The watch is available direct from heroevents.eu