On the occasion of Watches & Wonders in Geneva, Hermès invites us to travel, discover and experience adventure through an immersive artwork offering a phantasmagorical escapade. Entitled Time travels the world and imagined by Canadian artist Sabrina Ratté, the installation takes us into the universe of Hermès time. It is inspired by the new Arceau watch: Arceau Le temps voyageur. An ode to discovery, it combines the rigorous discipline of an object designed to last through time and imbued with the fanciful of Hermès time. A singular approach to mechanical watchmaking, it offers a playful and fantastic vision of the hours of the world. It is a beautiful escape that seems to fulfill our dream of ubiquity: being everywhere at once, travelling the world in a few steps.
The work forms a creative bridge between traditional skill s and contemporary technologies, allowing us to cross time and space. By playing with these possibilities, the artist whisks us from one country to another and leads us through territories transformed by her imagination. We f irst discover 12 interactive landscapes echoing various time zones. Inside the atrium, a monumental panorama unfolds before visitors. Looking up, they discover a celestial cartography dotted with constellations. The earth and the sky, seen from space or reflected by fragments of glass, merge in a harmonious choreography where time flows sometimes slowly, almost frozen, while occasionally accelerating and condensed. A kinetic mobile is suspended between heaven and earth, surrounded by watches that gravitate like satellites. Inspired by science fiction, technology and cinema, the terrestrial landscapes imagined by Sabrina Ratté are transformed before our wondering gaze.
Time travels the world offers a chance to explore non-linear time and space, inspired by ancient optical instruments and ultra-contemporary digital devices, intertwining past, present and future. Combining a sophisticated measuring tool with a representation of terrestrial space, the Arceau Le temps voyageur watch is part of a longstanding tradition of craftsmanship, technology and the art of time.
Kelly watch
Created in 1975, the Kelly watch reveals new facets of its free-spirited attitude. Whether a metal bracelet, diamond-set or worn as a necklace, it demonstrates a light-hearted gift for self-reinvention.
A powerful style statement expressing a distinctive take on femininity, it derives its padlock shape from the iconic handbag designed by Robert Dumas in the 1930s.
In 2022, Kelly accentuates the fanciful side of its nature by turning both mobile and playful. This Hermès watchmaking icon is a sparkling and mischievous jewellery timepiece that flaunts its clean-cut design and reaffirms its stylistic freedom and wearability. This feisty temperament is reflected in the lines of the case as well as the new gold or steel bracelet encircling the wrist.
The game is on and another way of wearing it is on the cards: Kelly becomes a sautoir necklace by slipping into a black boxcalf or smooth alligator clochette secured to a leather cordlet, all crafted in accord-ance with Hermès leather craftsmanship skills.
There are five possible interpretations: in steel, in rose gold, with or without diamond setting and featuring a mother-of-pearl or spangled white-lacquered dial. Impossible is a foreign word to this Kelly synonymous with freedom – here and now.
Hermès H08
Firmly embedded in the masculine universe of the House, the Hermès H08 watch combines tension and fluidity, robustness and delicacy. This recent signature with its assertive style flaunts its pluralistic nature in an intense shade of blue.
Created in 2021 by Philippe Delhotal, Creative Director, Hermès Horloger, the Hermès H08 watch combines rigorous discipline with high standards. As sporty as it is elegant, it features a strong aesthetic dimension and plays with shapes and materials.
The Hermès H08 watch is a finely balanced object embodying the harmonious interaction of opposites and contrasts. Shaped by attention to detail and accurate skills, it is distinguished by a graphic connection between all its components that represents a true style signature. Its geometric lines reveal a bold style involving a circular dial with singular typography, framed by a case with softened edges.
Its deep blue titanium case is topped by a black ceramic bezel and screw-down crown. A play of textures and finishes highlights the blue PVD-treated dial, punctuated by white Arabic numerals and orange accents. The black hands indicating the hours, minutes and seconds, as well as the date between 4 and 5 o’clock, are driven by the Manufacture Hermès H1837 mechanical self-winding movement.
A blue rubber strap with a black DLC titanium buckle underscores its sporty spirit and creates an urban and contemporary look echoing the world of Hermès men’s ready-to-wear.
Arceau Pocket cheval punk
Engraving, enamelling and Haute Horlogerie unite in a tourbillon minute repeater pocket watch revealing a dashing punk horse.
Created in 1978 by Henri d’Origny, the Arceau watch is a showcase for Hermès creativity and expertise. Its round white gold case rests on stirrup-shaped lugs, creating a style that is both timeless and distinctive. The unique Arceau Pocket cheval punk reveals a playful alliance of craftsmanship and fine watchmaking. Its openworked white gold cover, adorned with an engraved equestrian profile painted in miniature enamel, frames a champlevé enamelled dial and a Hermès tourbillon minute repeater movement.
The original, offbeat punk horse motif is drawn from a men’s silk scarf designed by Daiske Nomura in 2021. The Japanese designer-illustrator, who loves to divert and stage the company’s emblems, was inspired by a figurine from the Emile Hermès collection: a horse whose thick mane evokes a punk crest. The artist has mixed in numerous elements from the museum in a whimsical and futuristic interpretation of the Hermès universe.
Fashioned in white gold, the horse with its flamboyant crest, harness and tattoo combines several demanding techniques and gives a glimpse of movement. Hundreds of hours of meticulous work bring the silhouette to life beneath under the burins and chisels of the master engraver, before being painted in miniature enamel.
Its slim cut-out then reveals an equally meticulous creation: a crisscrossed gold dial crafted in champlevé enamel. To achieve this, the artisan applies several layers of coloured glass powders mixed with natural oils to the engraved cavities, which are successively dried and fired in the kiln.
The result is framed by an elegant round white gold case measuring 48 mm in diameter and housing the Hermès H1924 tourbillon minute repeater movement. To complete this miniature work of art, an abyss blue alligator strap, crafted in the Hermès Horloger workshops, is attached to the rectangular stirrup and highlights the deep nuances of the decoration.
Arceau Les folies du ciel
The Arceau Les folies du ciel watch is a dreamlike, airy composition from the early days of the conquest of the sky. A tribute to the pioneers who were foolish enough to believe that man could perhaps fly one day…
Created in 1978 by Henri d’Origny, the Arceau watch once again lends itself to the expression of Hermès creativity. The Arceau Les folies du ciel watch combines painting, engraving and animation to create a unique composition, inspired by Loïc Dubigeon’s «Les folies du ciel» silk scarf motif designed in 1984 to honour aerostatics. Capturing those first moments between earth and air, between dream and reality – when man could at last fly – it encompasses 18 projects ranging from the most serious to the most eccentric. They testify to the research conducted until the start of the 20th century in the field of hot-air balloon, airships and flying vessels. The parade begins, pennant flags flying high.
Escape, discovery and curiosity are at the heart of the journey embodied by Les folies du ciel. Before the aeroplane became a necessity for crossing land and sea, man first sought to soar, to rise higher.
The first aircraft took to the skies yet remained immobile was the aerostat. A prelude to the balloon and the airship, it allowed humans to break free from gravity. Icarus is a myth and the aerostat was a dream giving access to an impassable frontier that humankind would incessantly pursue: the horizon. The horse provided a chance to cover distances, while the aerostat brought a third dimension: altitude.
The Arceau Les folies du ciel watch is the horological expression of this spirit. The Hermès artisans have recreated this dreamlike journey in a 38 mm white gold case, powered by a Manufacture Hermès movement.
On a mother-of-pearl dial whose textured hue can be seen through the wisps of smoke from the chimneys, two neoralite pink and green hot-air balloons billow in the wind. Their kiln-fired canvas takes on a curved relief that creates the illusion of the volume of hot air filling them and enabling them to take flight. Each surface is hand polished to give it a radiant sheen.
The two balloons are attached to a handpainted white gold gondola in the shape of a bird – the original symbol of travel and migration, humankind’s first inspiration for its future flying vessels. Hermes
Hermes Perched above the tableau at 12 o’clock is a hand-painted and applied animated balloon. Designed as a balance, it spins on its axis in step with wrist movements, expressing the light, unexpected touch typical of Hermès creations. «Hermès Paris» is embossed like a secret signature reserved for each of the 24 travellers for whom this limited series is intended.
Arceau Le temps voyageur
IN THE FOLDS OF TIME
I am striding along the wide Omotesando Avenue, when – caught in the infinite movement of the Tokyo crowd, of the luminous signs and of the time – the world suddenly curves and opens up. I step in and when I open my eyes again, after countless turns, I am in Auckland, standing on the pier in bright sunshine, caressed by a strong wind. I look at my wrist; it is still there. It tells me the hours of the world and is my only compass, constantly moving amidst this whirlwind that blows me away. I have decided to follow time zones, to map out my route around the globe without knowing what I will find there. I am still looking.
The more I move ahead, the higher my wrist flies: the tiny planet turns endlessly above its dial, a planisphere of a galloping equestrian world. Is it this globe that is spinning fast or is it me on the run? Who is following whose pace? The opening indicates my home time – but where exactly is that? The perpetually rotating planet gives me the time in 24 cities, in 24 time zones, towards which I walk and that I dream of reaching at last. Because in…
Mexico City, the wildly animated streets are filled with incandescent purple jacaranda blossoms.
Nouméa, I float along dreamily, far from the madding crowd.
Bangkok, I hop onto the Ferris wheel, giggling as I enjoy a fantasy tuk-tuk ride through the flaming sky.
Samarkand, a heavenly blue gate opens onto the vast expanses of the steppe beyond.
I’m actually wrong though, as neither the watch nor I are running, merely gliding. It undulates and I follow, in turn making time stand still or embracing it. I am a human and a world in myself; released from daily contingencies, I simply merge with time. Sometimes it refuses my approach and I don’t force the issue, as I know it moves too fast for me. There is no need to rush, I just wait patiently and at last it stops. I get up and resume the dance, turning the next corner.
Sitting elegantly on my wrist, its slim presence is my only direct link with the world: I call it Le temps voyageur, together we spin between the hours. When I stroll through lanes and alleys, airports and train stations, my temps voyageur blends with passing latitudes, never losing its way and moving as fast as time and space combined. Its 41-millimetre platinum case and matt black titanium bezel do not weigh on my wrist, nor on my life. Its module flies me through the air. Its 122 components do not slow me down; they accelerate and enhance me. I must be a light-feathered arrow in the wind in order to set off for…
Juneau, Alaska, where the blizzard rages and reignites the senses.Sydney, where the hills are dappled with an apricot glow. Athens, where the silent stones speak volumes.
I’m not sure I’ll ever get anywhere, it doesn’t matter. With each step I let the world shape me, I become a maharajah here and a cosmonaut there, I slide between genres and borders as these distinctions are no longer relevant for me.
In Santiago, a cascade of pink… and life suddenly blooms.
Los Angeles, Rio, Paris: an infinite Babel.
New York, I walk beneath towering giants…
… from where I take off and gleefully land in the Azores.
I don’t know where I’m going, but my world is spinning in circles on its dial. I stand upright amid the big loop of passing hours. I have wrapped myself in the ever-deepening mystery of life. On the road, I have found nothing but time, which already means a great deal.
I hold the world in balance on my wrist.
ARCEAU LE TEMPS VOYAGEUR
The Arceau watch designed by Henri d’Origny in 1978 lends itself to a new expression of style and evokes the spirit of travel according to Hermès. Crafted in platinum and titanium or in steel, its round case with asymmetrical lugs reveals a singular reinterpretation by Hermès of classic Haute Horlogerie complications roaming across the hours of the world, as the “Travelling time” mechanism developed exclusively for Hermès provides a disc-type display of 24 time zones. The satellite gravitates on a fantasy map, imagined by Jérôme Colliard for the “Planisphère d’un monde équestre” silk scarf.
The mobile counter and the home time indication at 12 o’clock are driven by a 122-component module, measuring just 4.4mm thick, which is integrated within the Hermès H1837 mechanical self-winding movement. The mechanism powers the hours, minutes and dual-time display with city indication. Two Arceau Le temps voyageur models – a 41mm-diameter platinum version with a matt black DLC-treated titanium bezel and a 38mm steel iteration – are fitted with alligator or Swift calfskin straps made in Hermès Horloger’s own workshops using the House’s long-established saddle-making and leather craftsmanship expertise.
HERMÈS at Watches & Wonders Geneva Gallery
Time, a Hermès object
Hermès creates objects. Objects shaped by the hands of artisans to make them true companions for those who wear them. Practical, functional and stemming from uncompromising expertise, they radiate the lightness of the unexpected. They make everyday life their playground, and each instant a uniquely special moment.
For Hermès, time is also an object. Its inherent tension is translated by the house into a singular characteristic. Rather than measuring, ordering, and seeking to control it, Hermès dares to explore another time, designed to arouse emotions, open up interludes and create spaces for spontaneity and recreation.