Introducing The Ocean To Orbit Himalayan Poject

I was once told that my second child would be easier than my first.

The justification for this flawed observation was that my firstborn is some kind of Frankenstein experiment that I use to iron out all of my parenting deficiencies. What a crazy take. The truth is that no two kids are the same, and any learning you go through as a parent is immediately thrown out the window when you bring your second bundle of joy into the world. I’m sorry to say that it gets no easier with experience, the challenges only continually evolve.

Where this theory does hold up, however, is in the watch industry. A brand's first watch is often plagued with financial constraints, product-market fit and manufacturing issues that need to be worked through. Much like having kids, you have to make it up as you go along and put out the fires after they start. The second watch does benefit from the stumbles of the first, it benefits from time in the trenches and, most importantly, it benefits from a vision that has been distilled with time and effort.

This is where we find Melbourne-based Ocean to Orbit. Releasing their second watch, The Himalayan Project, David and Sid (the owners) have distilled their ideas and created a watch with all the DNA of their first, while creating something new. It’s a sign of good things to come from a brand that has been built from the ground up with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

Ocean to Orbit has well and truly left base camp.

Welcome To The Ocean To Orbit Himalayan Project

I feel proud to know David and Sid pretty well. I was one of the first to see the prototype for their first watch, The Lhotse, and was lucky to see the prototype for this one too. Where the Lhotse was their interpretation of a classic ‘explorer’ style watch, The Himalayan Project plants its flag firmly in the modern day. It’s bigger, bolder, more tactical and takes less inspiration from classic watches from the past. This is undoubtedly what a second watch should be, a direct line from the designer's brain to your wrist with. Less compromise, more grey matter.
The Himalayan Project is a 40 mm, titanium tool watch that is so pure in its intentions that it takes the oxygen out of the room and then puts it back in when you slip it onto your wrist.

The Himalayas And Extreme Legibility

In true Ocean To Orbit fashion, The Himalayan Project had to work in the environment it was named after, the Himalayan Mountains. David and Sid partnered with Nepalese mountaineer Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, to put it through its paces.  Mingma took a prototype of the watch on his seventh attempt (a world record) to climb K2 this July. A climb like this, over 8,000 meters, is an extreme undertaking and having the right gear with you is a non-negotiable. I can think of no better way to test a watch like this. If the Himalayan Project can survive in that environment, it can survive on my commute to school drop off and back.

When on the mountain (and in Melbourne), weather can change instantly, and to make sure Mingma’s watch was legible, the guys designed indexes that push up out of the dial like fingers reaching through fabric. To keep things bright, they’re capped with 3D Lumicast, a ceramic like material made from Swiss Super-LumiNova® Pigments. The effect is not only extremely legible, but elegant too. The indexes look like little snow capped mountains pushing up through the earth. Fitting indeed!

Does The Ocean To Orbit Himalayan Project Work Below 8000m?

When I heard from David that they were making the new watch bigger, I was a little apprehensive. I own and wear a Lhotse every day, and it’s 38.5 mm size is bang on. I’m embarrassed to admit that an increase of 1.5 mm to 40 mm didn’t sit well with me. Have I become what I despise?
Luckily, I snapped out of my deranged watch geek mindset and decided to wait to try it on before I passed judgement. David showed the prototype to me a couple of weeks ago and when I tell you that I didn’t want to take it off, I’m not joking. It’s so fucking comfortable.  

The case is light, made from grade 5 titanium, and has had a surface hardening treatment to bring it to 1200HV. For reference, 316L stainless steel, the industry standard, can reach 220HV. In layman’s terms, this means that the case of the Himalayan Project should be far more scratch resistant than steel. You know, just incase you drop it from the summit of K2.

As with the Lhotse, The Himalayan Project has been designed from the ground up and straddles the line between refreshingly modernist and reassuringly traditional. It’s not a massive departure from the norm, but just different enough to feel exceptional. I’m probably a bit biased because I love David and Sid, but holding this watch in my hand I can tell how much thought went into every angle, facet, and surface of this watch. It’s so well done. This is what you get when the brand owners are designers first. They won’t release anything they aren’t 100% proud of, and that makes me 100% proud of them.

The Perfect Strap By Watch Gecko

In an unexpected twist, The Himalayan Project comes on an Octopod strap by Watch Gecko. The decision to use an external supplier, from a brand that is so design focused, was interesting to me. Why not create a strap yourself?
After chatting to Dave, however, and in my recent conversation with the incredible Christopher Wegener from Pragma, I’ve come to realise that ‘in house’ may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Why not take advantage of a company that does something really well, even better, than they could? The

Octopod included with the Himalayan Project fits the brief. It’s comfortable, light and so much better than a standard NATO. It’s also a nice touch that they’ve put Ocean To Orbit branding on the clasp. Brings it all together.

I spoke to David on the phone last week about how The Himalayan Project has been received since launch, and one thing he said stuck with me.

“This isn’t just our watch hobby anymore”, he said with a cheeky tone in his voice.

The fact that Ocean To Orbit only now feels like a real business to David and Sid is both exciting and a little sad. So many brands launch their first watch to great success, but lack the resources and support to make it to their second. It’s a real shame.

I’ve been rooting for David and Sid since the beginning, and it makes me so happy to see the brand enter its next chapter. It’s no longer being held up by the willpower of its founders and is well and truly on its way to the summit.

If watch number two is this good, I can't wait for number three!

Cya in the next one x.

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