A uniquely Hermès take on seasonal beauty and celestial charms
There is art in nature, but not everyone has the gift of channeling its splendour. Hermès is among the luxury marques blessed with sensitivity and savoir-faire to not just capture nature’s beauty but elevate it with poetic flair.
From the bursts of autumnal colours, to cool wintry blue hues, the magnificence of the four seasons is artfully depicted on a quartet of Slim d’Hermès watches. Powered by Hermès’ ultra-thin movement and limited to 12 pieces for each series, the Le Sacre des saisons timepieces captivate with surreal and vibrantly coloured dials depicting animal motifs in 17th and 20th century French and Russian ballet costumes.
Paillonné enamel, engraving, and miniature painting techniques bring the illustrations, which previously appeared on Hermès silk scarves, to life. The version representing spring, for instance, comes a lemon chrysoprase dial adorned with a mystical image of a horse dressed with vivid flowers. The summer variant in white gold case with a light chartreuse dial, on the other hand, features a lion, which is painted from the back of the dial.
Our favourites, though, are the models that evoke autumn and winter. Dressed in striking scarlet, the former flaunts a three-dimensional gold dial fronted by an eagle depicted in relief engraving, carefully hand-painted with luscious shades of red and gold. The variant representing winter is an altogether different proposition. The execution is a touch more subtle—though no less challenging—featuring a costumed snow-wolf on an enamel dial accented with tiny paillonné gold flakes in between the enamel layers.
Away from the Le Sacre des saisons collection, there is the elegant Arceau Petite Lune ciel étoile for those who prefer a quieter dress watch. Housed in a 38mm steel case, the size is suitably unisex, though the diamonds on the bezel certainly endow the watch with a feminine sensibility.
An in-house automatic movement drives the watch and moonphase display, located at an unusual 11 o’clock position instead of the bottom of the dial. It is a neat little tweak that sets the moon as it appears in the night sky, depicted here with a textured mother-of-pearl dial set with a sprinkling of diamonds reminiscent of stars.
Translating the essence of the seasons and nocturnal beauty into evocative wrist statements, Hermès once again demonstrates its peerless ability to craft horological homages that are elegant, intriguing and unique all at once.
