THE DESTRIER’S SILHOUETTE

The Parisian house’s emblematic animal becomes an elusive shadow, a silhouette in motion, blended with precious weaving, galloping unfettered across the dial of two new timepieces unveiled as limited editions.

A bona fide explorer, Hermès Horloger travels across the globe on a quest to discover occasionally uncharted, occasionally overlooked, but frequently incomparable arts, which it packs in its trunks then subsequently center stages on its watch dials. The Slim model is ideally suited to this, an authentic miniature blank canvas on which the Parisian firm loves letting its creative streak roam free. The firm brought back a traditional weaving technique from Asia to adorn the Slim d’Hermès Cheval Ikat duo, each revealed as a 36-piece limited edition.

Two baton-type hands which emerge from the horse’s body to display the hours and minutes are driven by the H1950 caliber. This extra-slim self-winding movement, which nestles in the 39.5 mm-diameter case, beats at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations an hour and delivers a power reserve of 42 hours.

This Slim d’Hermès Cheval Ikat duo is complemented by a black- or Chantilly-colored alligator strap.

Price: CHF28,000 (rose gold) – CHF33,000 (white gold) hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin

COMBINING THE CODES

Embracing three powerful signs of the Parisian house’s identity, the famous “square inside a rectangle“ timepiece puts the final touch on its unique look with a double tour strap focusing on the renowned anchor chain.

Three key dates in the history of Hermès have marked the birth of three pillars signed by three major names, and they are now coming together to create a watch, the Cape Cod Chaîne d’Ancre. In 1938, Robert Dumas, the son-in-law of the grandson of Thierry Hermès, the founder, took inspiration from the anchor chains he had seen on the Normandy coast to design a piece of silver jewelry, taking the brand beyond leather for a dive into the maritime world. Then, in 1991, it was Henri d’Origny’s turn to open a new era by designing the Cape Cod, a “square inside a rectangle”, whose straps highlight the silhouette of the Anchor Chain. And lastly, in 1998, Martin Margiela introduced the double tour strap in Barenia calfskin with an elegant casualness to go with this watch model.

Powered by a quartz movement, the hours and minutes are displayed on the opaline dial by two rhodium-plated baton hands hovering over powdered Arabic numerals with thin anthracite outlines.

Price: 2’950 CHF (SM) – 3’050 CHF (LM) hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin

UNDER THE MOON’S CARESS

In a tribute to our nighttime companion, Henri d’Origny’s creation is dressed in black with a display of time’s essentials that is both fun and poetic. A limited edition of 300.

A unique silhouette in the contemporary landscape of watchmaking, with its round case with asymmetrical fasteners, the Arceau model, designed in 1978 by the creator Henri d’Origny, is an amazing source of artistic expression. For this late autumn, Hermès has dressed it in black from head to toe to let the light of the night shine along with the constellation Pegasus, a series of stars forming the profile of the famous winged horse of Greek mythology: Ronde des Heures, a new watch produced in a limited edition of just 300.

Dark as the night, the steel case measures 36 mm in diameter and is watertight to a depth of 30 m. It is coated with glossy black PVD and highlighted by a strip of 66 spinels on the bezel. On the dial with its sunburst finishings, the Moon appears between 9 am and 12 pm, showing just a crescent of its beauty. The Earth’s natural satellite is accompanied by stars, all in white mother-of-pearl brought out by luminescent lacquer. Like a game of light and shadows, the hour numbers in a totally unique style pursue their march across an iridescent surface set on a rotating matte black hoop. The minutes are indicated by a long, baton-shaped rhodium-plated hand. These original displays are produced by the Swiss quartz movement.

This new Ronde des Heures by Hermès fits onto the wrist with a smooth alligator leather watchband and a black steel pin buckle.

Price: 6’450 CHF hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin

LIKE A FISH TO WATER

The Parisian fashion house has chosen the height of summer to unveil a new timepiece limited to 6 pieces with a dial made of glass micromosaic which represents the design of a silk scarf from 1992.

“Like a fish to water”. You may not be familiar with this saying but the latest work by Hermès, the Arceau Grands Fonds model, available in 6 pieces, demonstrates it perfectly. Why? Because an exquisite parrot fish decorated with blue and yellow scales speckled with white effortlessly lights up the dial of this timepiece.

The leaf-shaped hour and minute hands next to the fish’s eye are regulated by the H1837 caliber which is located in a 41 mm white gold case. This self-winding mechanical movement offers a power reserve of 50 hours.

Price: 100,000 CHF hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin

SIMPLICITY DRIVING AUDACITY

Since 2015, we have never been disappointed by the watches in the Slim collection! We love their simplicity and their visual features, well in evidence in this model.

With Hermès, time has entered another dimension. A dimension where style is not just a marketing pitch, but a real aesthetic aim. Each component has its own identity. Once brought together, the elements give the watch a unique character. For proof you just need to look at the brand-new Slim Titane. The chapter ring is made up of white figures in an original typeface. Designed by Philippe Apeloig, they are precisely cut out from the watch face. In the centre, an azure surface houses a grained counter at 6 o’clock in the same colour as the hours. While the Parisian firm likes to play with materials, it also shows unique skill in combining colours. So we find a touch of orange, Hermès’ trademark colour, on the figure 12 and on the small second hand, helping to bring the simple design to life. The watch is housed in a 39.5mm-wide titanium case with a swirling, satin-brushed bezel.

The matt alligator leather strap worn with the Slim Titane recalls the colours on the dial. The front comes in a graphite tone, while the lining is a smooth orange.

Price: 5,900 EUR hermes.com

By Dan Diaconu

HOWLING AT THE MOON

The Hermès wolf was originally designed for a silk scarf. It has now arrived on the dial of the Arceau model to make its trademark howl and celebrate the beauty of artistry and craftsmanship.

The substantial animal ranks at Hermès have now been joined by a wolf howling in the moonlight. The wolf was created in 2016 by a young designer from London, Alice Shirley (born 1984), who has worked with Hermès since 2012. The wild canine was originally designed for a silk scarf, but has arrived this year on the dial of a watch made by the Parisian brand, the Arceau Awooooo, which was launched at the 2019 SIHH.

The Arceau Awooooo model is a very exclusive edition with only eight pieces made. The watch comes with a graphite alligator-leather strap and a white-gold tang buckle.

Price on request hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin

LIFE AT A GALLOP

We love the Hermès world of speed and horses, as well as the play of light and gentle architecture. A great example is the new collection of women’s watches, Galop, created by the US designer Ini Archibong.

The latest addition to the watchmaking catalogue of the Parisian brand, Galop d’Hermès is a form watch with a very special shape. The silhouette of the case recalls a stirrup revised and restyled by Ini Archibong. The designer born, in 1983 in Pasadena, California and now living in Basel, Switzerland, loves to observe and play with the light, and to develop shapes to capture and intensify it. A stylistic orientation that has led him to work with Hermès and to design this new women’s watch.

Since this is Hermès, the Galop watch comes with a wide range of leather straps with tang buckles, from the most traditional style (natural or black Barenia calf leather) to the most exotic (sapphire blue smooth, ember, raspberry, elephant grey or black alligator leather) via an elegant matt etoupe-coloured alligator leather strap.

Prices from 3,550 CHF (polished steel with Barenia leather) to 15,700 CHF (rose gold with diamonds and alligator leather) hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin

OBJECTIVE MOON

This limited series of just 100 watches for each version takes us on a journey through time and space with an original interpretation of the moon phases.

The inspired and elegant case designed by Henri D’Origny in 1978 is a constant source of new adventures, filled with enchanted poetry and watchmaking. The Arceau Heure de la Lune launched by Hermès at the recent SIHH in Geneva carries us up towards the satellite of our Earth. On an aventurine or meteorite dial, two white mother-of-pearl discs capture the attention. The first displays the hours and minutes, while the second shows the date, with blued hands. Their distinguishing features? They are not only offset, but also mobile, seeming to float in a weightless atmosphere! Both discs rotate around the central axis once in 59 days. This is not a random figure, of course, but corresponds to two complete moon phases. The discs float above two depictions of the moon and show the satellite’s phases in real time.

Price: 23,000 EUR hermes.com

By Dan Diaconu

LETTING TIME GO BY

The Arceau watch was created in 1978 thanks to the mischievous pencil of Henri d’Origny. It has been continually renewed since then, without ever losing its identity. With the 78 version, filled with contrasting colours and materials, it shows time passing playfully by.

The success of the Arceau model since 1978, the year of its creation, is due first to the superb design by Henri d’Origny, with a fine bezel, asymmetrical lugs inspired by stirrups and Arabic figures evoking the flowing mane of a galloping horse. And second, by the talent and creativity of Hermès. The brand has continually given this iconic model the wonderful gift of reinventing itself, skilfully embracing arts and crafts or adopting a modern look. This is the case for the new Arceau 78, which moves between the light and the dark, the smooth and the grainy, for a highly contemporary style.

True to the aesthetic features of the 40-year-old collection (time goes by so fast!), the Arceau 78 watch has a 40mm-wide steel case. The polished structure strongly contrasts with the brushed bezel on top of it, with a sanded deep grey surface. A fluted crown has been placed in its traditional 3 o’clock position to take care of the watch’s various functions.

The delicately grained dial also comes in an anthracite colour, but is illuminated by the famous slanting typography invented by Henri d’Origny. The Arabic figures around the hour rim seem to be unsettled by speed. They are coated in sand-coloured Super-LumiNova®, a colour that blends in wonderfully well with the natural Barenia leather of the strap.

A Swiss-made quartz movement drives the blackened gold leaf-shaped hour and minute hands, discreetly highlighted by a touch of beige Super-LumiNova® and placed at the centre of the dial, as well as the date in a counter at 6 o’clock.

Price: 3,150 CHF hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin

LEATHER MOSAIC

The “Robe du Soir” silk-scarf pattern arrives on the rose gold Arceau dial with a mosaic of tiny leather fragments. A magical work of craftsmanship!

Mosaics have existed since Antiquity, for around 6,000 years, and are basically made up of terracotta or stone fragments put together to form tiling or a pattern. Over time, the practical technique became a refined and elegant form of decorative art. It has also been miniaturised, sometimes using less common materials like in the Arceau Robe du Soir model, a beautiful watch available in just 12 pieces, which celebrates a new form of art on the dial: the leather mosaic. Is it any wonder? Not really, since leather-making was Hermès’ original business and elegance its leading feature.

To make the miniature format of the Robe du Soir silk-scarf pattern, designed by the very talented Florence Manlik, the artisans from the Parisian firm painstakingly cut out tiny square fragments from full-grain calf leather. In all, 2,200 minute fragments form the colourful profile of a harnessed horse’s head against an electric blue background. The animal with a brown coat and beige mask is dressed in striking colours such as bright red and deep turquoise. At the centre of this profusion of colour are a pair of gilded, leaf-shaped hands unobtrusively moving around the hours and minutes. The hands are driven by the H1837 calibre, a self-winding movement made in-house by Hermès and providing 50 hours of power reserve.

The leather mosaic is shown to advantage in an Arceau case with asymmetrical lugs. It is 41mm-wide, made of rose gold and attached to the wrist with an electric blue Swift calf leather strap, rounded off with a tang buckle.

Price: CHF 52,000 hermes.com

By Sharmila Bertin