For 40 years, Hermès Horloger has been reaching for the Moon in creating timepieces.
One of the French maison's 15 métiers, the watchmaking department, has unveiled the tour de force Arceau L'heure de la lune and Arceau Awooooo models recently at SIHH 2019 in Geneva.
Arceau watches have been the pride and joy of Laurent Dordet ever since his appointment as Hermès Horloger CEO in March 2015.
The easy-going Frenchman has actually been with Hermès for almost 25 years, first in finance and then in textile, precious leather and leather goods.
"The watch industry is dominated by long-established pure players. We are among the challengers with big ambitions to prove that Hermès is not only a bag- or a scarf-maker, but a genuine and consummate watchmaker," Dordet said.
The quintessential luxury brand, however, has been associated with horology since 1928, when timepieces were first sold at its store on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris.
The Hermès family, though concentrating on leather goods, had an affinity with Swiss watchmakers. Till the 1970s, collaborations with the likes of Universal Genève and Jaeger-LeCoultre resulted in timepieces bearing the Hermès signature and equipped with Swiss mechanisms.
Hermès Horloger CEO Laurent Dordet.
In 1978, La Montre Hermès SA began operations in Bienne, in the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry.
Today's integrated production involves Les Ateliers d'Hermès Horloger in Le Noirmont for making the case and dial, while Vaucher Manufacture in Fleurier provides movements.
Its iconic models include Arceau, Dressage, Cape Cod, Carré H and Slim d'Hermès, which share an understated and timeless design, illustrating the brand's definition of French elegance.
"We started by making quartz watches with creative shapes and styles that brought something fresh to the industry. Well received by women, they were a huge part of the business in the 1990s," said Dordet. "Not only women, men are also supersensitive to style. If we make a GMT or a chronograph, the Hermès style will make it stand out from the myriad mechanical watches."
The last 10 years saw Hermès Horloger earning a reputation for creating unconventional complications, starting with the award-winning Arceau le temps suspendu (2011), followed by the Dressage l'heure masquée (2014) and Slim d'Hermès l'heure impatiente (2017).
"The Arceau le temps suspendu was a great introduction to our inventive timepieces that portray our vision of time," said Dordet. "At Hermès we have our feet on the ground and our head in the sky -- we do things differently, now shown by Arceau L'heure de la lune, which is a novel approach to the moonphase."
The classical horological complication normally features a little moon in a small aperture, whereas the astronomical body has become a prominent part of the dreamy Arceau L'heure de la lune with an alluring 3D design.
The simultaneous display of moonphases in both northern and southern hemispheres playfully swaps their cardinal points on the dial, crafted from meteorite or aventurine.
At 12 o'clock, the southern mother-of-pearl moon is adorned by the winged horse Pegasus, which represents the origins of Hermès. At 6 o'clock, the view of the moon from the northern hemisphere depicts the lunar surface.
A wolf howling at the moon in the whimsical Arceau Awooooo.
"We actually mixed it all up for a topsy-turvy interpretation of the sky, with the date and time displays becoming satellites instead of the moon," he said. "Depicting the Hermès sky, Arceau L'heure de la lune represents the way we create things. It doesn't start from a marketing brief, it doesn't speak to a certain target group, as we speak to ourselves in unleashing our creativity."
The cosmic concept has been mechanically translated by a patented l'heure de la lune module incorporated into the Hermès Manufacture H1837 movement, which drives the choreography of the lacquered mobile counters above the double moon discs, while maintaining their horizontal orientation in indicating the date and time.
"While a very technical timepiece, it's very easy to use and adjust," the CEO added. "That also represents who we are. We imaginatively make watches that do not overwhelm users, in the technicality and the design, which embodies the Hermès style."
Simple and graphic readability is another hallmark of the Hermès style, exemplified by Arceau's Arabic numerals, whose distinctive sloping font is inspired by a horse's gallop. Designed by Henri d'Origny in 1978, the elegant Arceau case also features asymmetrical lugs evoking stirrups.
Miniature enamel painting on the dial.
Housed in a 43mm white gold case, the Arceau L'heure de la lune meteorite and aventurine versions are limited editions, each of 100 pieces.
Besides technical prowess, Hermès Horloger demonstrates its meticulous craftsmanship in miniature enamel painting, on the dial of the 41mm white gold Arceau Awooooo portraying a wolf howling at the moon.
The whimsical watch, available in only eight pieces, is the second in a series that started with Slim d'Hermès Grrrrr!, featuring an enamel painting of the face of a gruff bear.
Against a starry backdrop with a slim moon crescent, the silver-furred wolf, like the bear, refers to an animal motif on an Hermès scarf designed by artist Alice Shirley.
"We can draw inspiration from our equestrian heritage and archives for the designs of beautiful watches," Dordet said. "We can also do something original, such as the Arceau L'heure de la lune, which shows our mechanical ingenuity in advancing haute horlogerie."
The 3D design of Arceau L'heure de la lune has the time and date displays gravitating like satellites above the double moon. xx
