Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 confirmed something that many of us had been seeing for a while: Hermès is no longer playing second fiddle in the world of haute horlogerie. The Maison arrived in Geneva with a singular, cohesive vision, treating skeletonisation as a creative language, not a decorative trick. Designer Jean-Simon Roch translated that vision into a theatrical booth installation, a towering wooden automaton of ropes, pulleys, and counterweights where watchmaking mechanics literally interact with stage machinery. It was a conceptually coherent booth at the fair, and it set the tone perfectly for the watches presented inside.
Hermès H08 Squelette
The Dial
The H08 Squelette (approx. EUR 20.000) opens with a fully openworked black dial that lays the architecture bare. Applied Arabic numerals carry blue or grey Super-LumiNova® against the skeletal backdrop, and a grey transfer-printed minutes track encircles the composition. Black PVD-treated baton hands, also coated in Super-LumiNova®, float above the gear-work with a graphic confidence that feels entirely contemporary. The contrast between the industrial darkness of the PVD treatment and the luminous markers creates a depth that changes entirely under different light conditions.
The Movement
At the heart sits the new Manufacture H1978 S calibre, a skeletonised, self-winding movement entirely crafted in PVD-treated titanium for both mainplate and bridges. At 27 mm in diameter and only 4.165 mm thick, it packs 168 components into a remarkably structured architecture that beats at 28,800 vph (4 Hz) and delivers a 60-hour power reserve. The choice of titanium throughout keeps the visual weight consistent and the actual weight negligible, while the PVD treatment unifies the aesthetic across every component. This is a movement you read like a technical drawing.
The Case
The 39 mm cushion-shaped case in matt DLC-treated, satin-brushed titanium is one of the most distinctive silhouettes in sports-luxury watchmaking today. The sunburst satin-brushed black ceramic bezel receives mirror-polished chamfers for a sharp contrast between surfaces. A screw-lock crown, anti-glare sapphire crystal, and sapphire caseback complete the picture, with water resistance to 10 bar. The folding clasp in satin-brushed black DLC-treated titanium continues the material logic onto the structured woven-pattern rubber strap, available in Bleu Zanzibar or black, and additionally in bleu abysse, dune, or vert moyen.
Arceau Samarcande
The Dial
The Arceau Samarcande (approx. EUR 280.000) delivers arguably the most audacious dial construction at the entire fair. Hermès uses Saint-Louis crystal, either blue or white, openworked into the shape of a horse’s head, a form that simultaneously functions as both dial and sculptural object. Beneath this crystal horse-head cutout, the skeletonised movement becomes part of the visual composition. Arabic numerals and hour studs in rhodium-plating or 5N rose-gilding are domed and polished, and a transfer-printed minutes track encircles the scene. Rhodium-plated or rose-gilt leaf-type hands complete a dial that genuinely reads as fine jewellery and horology converging.
The Movement
The H1297 calibre is the technical centrepiece of Watches and Wonders 2026 from Hermès. This custom-designed, manufacture self-winding movement uses a micro-rotor and houses a fully functional minute repeater. At 28 mm in diameter and 4.95 mm thick, it packs 339 components and 40 jewels, a remarkable density for a skeletonised repeater. The beat rate of 21,600 vph (3 Hz) prioritises acoustic performance over raw speed. The finishing standard is exceptional: hand-crafted mirror polishing, chamfering, circular satin finishing, and bead blasting all coexist on different surfaces, and the micro-rotor carries the Duc attelé motif. Through the sapphire caseback, the minute repeater hammers are clearly visible, and their sound activates the single gong at will.
The Case
The 38 mm case draws directly from Henri d’Origny’s 1978 Arceau design, with its signature stirrup-inspired asymmetrical lugs. Hermès offers this in 750 white gold, gem-set 750 white gold, or gem-set 750 5N rose gold, three configurations that allow the same movement architecture to read very differently. The crown at 3 o’clock carries an engraved H, and anti-glare sapphire crystal fronts and backs the case. Water resistance sits at 3 bar, appropriate for a grand complication of this complexity. Strap options are generous, from smooth encre or bleu saphir alligator to Barénia calfskin and Athéna calfskin, with gold folding clasps throughout.
Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune
The Dial
The Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune opens the skeletal vocabulary into a more poetic register. The openworked dial in black gold or blue leaves room for the movement architecture to breathe visually, while a double moon phase complication at 6 o’clock, tracking both Northern and Southern hemispheres simultaneously, adds an astronomical dimension to the composition. White transfer-printed minutes track and rhodium-plated baton hands keep the legibility clean despite the busy background. The vert d’eau and blue colour expressions are subtle and sophisticated, very much in the Slim d’Hermès tradition.
The Movement
Hermès developed the H1953 calibre specifically for this watch, and its technical specification is outstanding for its proportions. At 30 mm in diameter but only 3.57 mm thick, this self-winding movement with micro-rotor houses 178 components and 29 jewels, running at 21,600 vph for a 48-hour power reserve. The finishing deploys hand-chamfering and bead blasting on the bridges, techniques that require considerable skill to execute consistently at this thickness. The result is a movement that feels simultaneously architectural and delicate, coloured entirely in blue or vert d’eau to match the dial expression.
The Case
At 39.5 mm in diameter, the case comes in two material configurations: satin-brushed DLC-treated titanium with an anthracite DLC-treated titanium bezel, or polished 950 platinum with a polished platinum bezel. The gap between those two options in terms of visual and tactile experience is enormous. One reads as a sports-adjacent dress watch, the other as uncompromising haute horlogerie. Both carry anti-glare sapphire crystal and caseback, with water resistance to 3 bar. The folding clasp in titanium or white gold works with alligator straps in gris étain, black, or bleu abysse, and with bleu navy Swift calfskin.
Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar!
The Dial and Cover
The Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar! arrives as the most overtly artistic release of the season, and it earns that position through genuine craft, not spectacle. The openworked cover carries a roaring lion in wood marquetry, originally created as a silk scarf motif by British artist Alice Shirley. The artisan miniaturises the design to fit the cover, then selects ten precious wood species, amaranth, burl, bubinga, tulipwood, and maple among them, according to their natural hues, cutting them into tiny fragments, assembling them like a jigsaw puzzle, then sanding and varnishing the whole to reveal a feline of astonishing depth. Beneath that cover, the dial in vert cyprès or bleu saphir Grand Feu enamel features a herringbone pattern that plays with light from every angle. The enamel technique involves mixing coloured glass powder with oil, applying it evenly to a previously engraved white gold base, then firing the dial above 800°C to fuse the layers permanently and reveal the full intensity of the colour.
The Movement
Powering this pocket watch is the ultra-thin Manufacture H1950 calibre, a self-winding movement crafted in Switzerland with a diameter of 30 mm and a remarkable thickness of just 2.6 mm. It beats at 21,600 vph and delivers a 48-hour power reserve, with functions limited to hours and minutes, a deliberate restraint that allows the artisanal elements to speak without distraction. At this slimness, producing a reliable self-winding mechanism demands exceptional engineering discipline, and Hermès delivers it with characteristic understatement.
The Case and Presentation
The round 45 mm case in white gold frames the entire composition with the purity and balance that Philippe Delhotal built into the Slim d’Hermès line when he designed it in 2015. Anti-glare sapphire crystal and caseback ensure the dial remains protected and fully visible from both sides, with water resistance to 3 bar. Hermès produces this piece as two numbered limited series of three pieces each, one in vert cyprès and one in bleu saphir. Each comes with a cord strap and a pouch in matt alligator matching the respective dial colour, a presentation that underlines the House’s leather expertise as much as its watchmaking ambition.
A Season of Transparent Ambition
Across every 2026 release, Hermès shows its inner workings without hesitation, and the craftsmanship on display fully justifies that confidence. Rather than measuring, ordering, or seeking to control time, the House consistently dares to explore it as an emotional object, a philosophy that connects the theatrical mechanics of Jean-Simon Roch’s booth to the hand-selected wood fragments on the Roaaaaar! cover. Officially announced retail prices for the Watches and Wonders trio are not yet publicly confirmed, but expect the Arceau Samarcande minute repeater to enter six-figure territory comfortably, with the H08 Squelette and Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune positioned in the upper five-figure range depending on case material. The Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar!, as a limited edition of three pieces per colour in white gold, will sit firmly in grand complication pricing. This is a year that demands your full attention from Hermès Horloger.
