Hermès might just be a sleeping giant in the watch world. We explore the Faubourg's short history and how the brand's watchmaking prowess came about to be in today's article.
Hermès is many things – a luxury brand crafting bags of the highest craftmanship, every woman’s dream, or even a symbol of peak luxury to many. What it is not in the eyes of many is Hermès the watchmaker, and to bring up Hermès as a serious watchmaker in a conversation with many enthusiasts seems to be viewed as sacrilege. Despite the considerable advancements they have made in watch design and construction over the years, the brand still often faces disrespect and is labelled as expensive fashion watches which could not be further from the truth.
Early History
It is said that the brand’s foray into watchmaking started with a story of a father and a daughter: the first Hermès wristwatch was created in 1912 as a gift for Emile-Maurice-Hermès’ daughter. Not much is known about the brand’s imprints on the watchmaking world during that period, but the brand was starting to become more active in offering timepieces starting in the latter half of the roaring twenties. The timing of this expansion seems appropriate and befitting of the zeitgeist of the era marked by an explosion of excess and exuberance in the Western world. During what was described as the “Crazy Years” (Années folles), metropolitan cities such as Paris became playgrounds for a generation thirsty for life's pleasures.
An early advertising poster for the Faubourg
Source: Google Images
During this period however, Hermès was never a true “watchmaker” that was involved in the direct manufacturing of timepieces. They acted as primarily a retailer and commissioned the watches for their offerings via well-known brands such as Jaeger LeCoultre, Mido, and Movado. Much like how many jewellers and retailers often had double signed dials, the same was seen for Hermès watches. Some of the vintage Hermès advertisements from the early 1900s show Hermès advertisements for Universal Genève watches, which was considered to be one of the most respectable watchmakers during those days to cater to some of their most affluent clientele.
A 1968 Rolex Paul Newman Daytona retailed by Hermès. The Hermès retailer mark is only found on the caseback. This was just a decade or so before Hermès begun their serious foray into watchmaking.
Source: Phillips
Universal Genève by Hermès from the 1930s, in a very attractive solid gold stepped Disco Volante case. An example of a very nice watch sold by the maison in the first half of the 20th century. Sold by Black Bough.
Source: Black Bough
It seems that it was only from the 2nd half of the 20th century when Hermès began to emerge itself into the world of original watch designs. After the 2nd World War, the maison was no longer really involved in the watchmaking world and seems to have continued to purely focus on that part of the business as a retailer.
Hermès Under Jean-Louis Dumas
In the 1970s, Hermès went under a managerial change when Jean-Louis Dumas was appointed chairman in 1978 upon the death of his father. Being the grandson of Emile-Maurice-Hermès, the third generation of the maison’s lineage, Jean-Louis Dumas had begun his career in Hermès in 1964. His tenure saw the Hermès brand grow globally and expand rapidly into key markets such as the United States and Asia, and it was he who had wanted to revive the maison’s watchmaking business and take progressive steps towards building out the business. In 1978, Hermès founded the Ateliers de La Montre Hermès in Biel, Switzerland, as a first step in watchmaking.
As a maison with a clear competitive advantage in design, the first step of the brand was towards creating refreshing original designs for watches. It was said that Jean-Louis Dumas appointed Henri D’Origny, who had no experience designing a watch, up to the task with the rationale being that when one starts from zero, it results in a more refreshing and unbiased design approach. Henri D’Origny, who had previously taken up the task of designing accessories such as ties and scarves got to work with his newly allocated task.
There does not seem to be a coherent story as to how the Arceau design came about. Various sources state that Henri D’Origny was inspired by a watch that had half of it hidden under a leaf, while a podcast by the Faubourg that featured him mentioned that the asymmetry came up as a result of a penicillin moment at the casemaking workshop. Either way, the resultant design was a watch that was different– a watch that opposed the idea of symmetry. Keeping with the maison's equestrian history, the watch was then shaped after the stirrup – and the iconic Arceau was born. In the design process, Henri D’Origny was particularly insired by his fondness for designs based off of practical objects, as well as memory of his grandfather who used the maison’s products for his horseriding hobby. The Arceau, despite being a design that is almost half a century old, continues to be an enduring design in the modern context.
A variant of the Hermès Arceau AR7.710 - the Arceau AR7.710G, an automatic watch made by the maison in the early 2000s. This example came from the years before the partial acquisition of Vaucher Fleurier by Hermès and utilizes an Sellita-based movement. This variant was a limited edition of 100 watches created to commemorate the opening of the Ginza boutique in Japan in 2008. Unlike the other variants of the AR7.710, this one does not come with a date complication, and comes with a black dial with silvered numerals.
Source: Generalist
An Arceau AR7.710 in white. Unlike the aforementioned AR7.710G variant, these all come with the date window at the 6 o'clock.
Source: Generalist
Henri D’Origny continued to be a prolific figure in the maison’s design processes, and he then went on to design another iconic timepiece, the Cape Cod, in 1991. The Cape Cod design was based off the Chaîne d’Ancre bracelet made by the maison by D’Origny with a very simple brief – to create a rectangular watch. The creative process was as simple as merely cutting the Chaîne d’Ancre motif into half and adding it to the watch, and in D’Oringy’s words “suddenly became a rectangle”. The Cape Cod was then elevated further as a watch, when in 1998, a certain Martin Margiela, designed the iconic double tour strap that propelled the watch into the spotlight as one of the most coveted luxury fashion watches of the era. Till today, the double tour strap is distinctively Hermès, and possibly an only iconic leather strap design that can be recognized from afar.
The Cape Cod designed by Henri D'Origny, with the iconic double tour strap designed by Martin Margiela. A product of two very prolific designers of our time.
Source: Hermès
However, outstanding design alone was not enough to be viewed as a serious contender in the watchmaking world. The idea of “serious” watchmaking was beginning to change with how the industry itself was developing along with new technologies. If we put into perspective the time period that the maison had founded the Ateliers de La Montre Hermès, this was a period in which timekeeping was being democratized via the introduction of the Quartz movement. Many of Switzerland’s traditional manufacturers also began to dabble in this newfound technology and for many years, created a myriad of Quartz timepieces. The maison’s watchmaking time was born during a period when traditional watchmaking had temporarily died, and that arguably placed design in the spotlight over the other constituents of a watch.
The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s however began to see that tide change. With the rise of the neo-vintage movement that saw the resurrection of appreciation for mechanical watches and the forgotten past, traditional watchmaking was cool again. This was however a department that Hermès arguably lacked in, and there was a clear recognition of this in the coming years and efforts to overcome this.
Hermès begun acquiring a stake in various other companies that specialized in the manufacturing of watch components such as the Nateber SA in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 2012 (Dials), Joseph Erard SA in Le Noirmont in 2013 (Cases). However, 2006 was truly a monumental year for Hermès when they acquired a 25% stake in Vaucher Fleurier which brought them closer to creating “in-house” movements and a reduction in reliance on ETA-based movements.
Joseph Erard was a historical manufacturer of watch cases for many different brands. An early gold case made by Joseph Erard SA for Omega. Identifiable via the poinçon de maître which is a hammer with the number "161".
Source: Omega Forums
The Unique Watches of Hermès
With this at the core of its watchmaking arm, Hermès continues to launch some of the most interesting watches in the market today. Not only have there been very solid offerings in the more standard range of watches such as the Slim d’Hermes or the Arceau, Hermès have also offered some interestingly complicated watches in recent years. The Arceau L’Heure De La Lune which debuted in SIHH 2019 is possibly one of the most impressive watches made by Hermès in design and technicality. The watch utilizes an in-house movement that uses a pair of discs that display the hours and minutes on one, and the date on the other. These two discs hover over the two moons on the dial, creating dual moon phase indicator. Additionally, using materials such as Lapis Lazuli, Blue Pearl, and meteorite for its dial, these watches are aesthetically very easy on the eyes, and it is arguably so that the usage of such dial materials have not been all too common lately.
The Arceau L’Heure De La Lune
Source: Hermès
Additionally, the brand has continued to work with some of the best in the watchmaking business like Agenhor, a prolific Genevan company that provide expertise in unique complications. Founded in 1996 by Jean-Marc and Catherine Wiederrecht, Agenhor is a company that has worked with many different high-end watch brands such as Harry Winston, MB&F, and H. Moser & Cie and have created some of the most attractive and interesting complication modules seen in the industry. The Hermès Arceau Le Temps Suspendu (Suspended Time), is an example of a masterpiece born through this collaboration. Released in 2011, the Le Temps Suspendu was devised with the romantic notion of wanting to "stop time" for some of the wearer's most precious and important moments. At a press of a button, this immediately places the hour and minutes hands to 12 o’clock, while the date hand disappears behind the hour ring. While the time is "stopped", the movement actually continues to run and keep time, and time "begins again" when the wearer presses the button for the second time to display the correct time. While this watch is no time machine, it is a whimsical complication that actually is highly complex and is a true display of engineering sophistication that Agenhor brings to the table and Hermès' continued commitment to be different while delivering quality in its watchmaking business.
Agenhor AGH-4111 module - the module that enables the Le Temps Suspendu. This module is installed on an ETA2892 to power the watch.
The cams (in purple) are decoupled when the button is activated via the levers mounted on the switching wheels (red) being connected to the racks (green). This decoupling essentially is the mechanism that resets the hands it the "suspended" state.
Source: WatchTime
Closing Thoughts
Hermès continues its path of innovation and strength with its watchmaking, transcending the stereotype that fashion brands cannot make good watches. At the end of the day, watches are practical accessories that are meant to lie on our wrists, and making an attractive watch is of key importance. An overly complicated watch with the finishing to the highest degree that looks downright ugly is never going to have a place in a serious collector’s collection, granted the idea of beauty is subjective. At that point, the watch would purely ticking off boxes in a list rather than being an attractive watch that is meant to be worn. Despite the many advancements that Hermès has made, their watches are easy fodder for haters and wannabe connoisseurs who view the brand to be beneath them due to their status as a “fashion” brand. When we objectively look at what the brand has achieved, its journey is nothing short of remarkable, and to just discredit all this due to their branding would be of utmost disrespect to giants like Jean-Louis Dumas and Henri D’Origny who have applied their soul to the endeavour.