The Arceau Hermès story, first seen in 1978, when Henri d’Origny saw a watch with half of it hidden under a leaf, inspiring him to ditch any idea of perfect symmetry – his Arceau would have only one lug – plays with time and goes beyond fashion.
The story was born from the lively pencil of English designer John Burton, who recently designed the Hermès Story silk scarf in the spring/summer 2022 collection. In this work, he reinterprets the uses of social media, the singular art of staging, an offbeat universe that he depicts beneath the gaze of various fauna amused by the selfie exercise.
The giraffe has donned his best bow tie, the toucan his top hat and the turtle his hat – which is of course a bowler by the very British John Burton! At the centre of the scene, a rider on a wooden horse in full regalia captures this improbable animal reunion, which is already giving rise to a few “likes”.
The two Arceau Hermès Story watches capture the essence of these fantasy animals. The first version, issued in a 12-piece limited and numbered edition, features a tiger composed of wood marquetry. The feline with turquoise eyes combines plum, tulipwood, ash-olive, maple and sycamore in 290 pieces of wood patiently cut, stained and assembled one by one. The tiger alone requires five days of work to render all its nuances and subtleties.
Eight days and a few firings in the oven later, the magic happens: the princess appears on her wooden horse at the heart of an animal circle where toucan, turtle, peacock, swallow and rabbit vie for the best spot in a countryside selfie.
Technical Specifications:
Limited and numbered edition of 12
MOVEMENT
Manufacture Hermès H1912 movement
Mechanical self-winding, Swiss made
Diameter: 23.30 mm
Thickness: 3.9 mm
Power reserve: 50 hours
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour / 4Hz
Functions: Hours, minutes
Decoration: Circular-grained and snailed baseplate, satin-brushed
bridges and oscillating weight, with signature ‘sprinkling of Hs’
pattern, rhodium-plated oscillating weight.
CASE
Shape / size: Round, 38 mm diameter
Material: Rose gold, bezel set with 82 diamonds
Glass: Anti-glare sapphire crystal and case-back
Water-resistant to 3 bar
DIAL
Dial with miniature painting on agate, wood marquetry,
engraved and hand-painted gold appliques
STRAP
Chantilly alligator
PRICE
POA
Limited and numbered edition of 24
MOVEMENT
Manufacture Hermès H1912 movement
Mechanical self-winding, Swiss made
Diameter: 23.30 mm
Thickness: 3.9 mm
Power reserve: 50 hours
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour / 4Hz
Functions: Hours, minutes
Decoration: Circular-grained and snailed baseplate, satin-brushed
bridges and oscillating weight, with signature ‘sprinkling of Hs’
pattern, rhodium-plated oscillating weight.
CASE
Shape / size: Round, 38 mm diameter
Material: White gold, bezel set with 82 diamonds
Glass: Anti-glare sapphire crystal and case-back
Water-resistant to 3 bar
DIAL
Miniature painted on natural white mother of pearl
STRAP
Pastel blue alligator
PRICE
POA
For more information, please visit Hermès