Once again, Hermès has been very active in the artistic crafts with the models presented at Baselworld 2016.
Many watch brands use the artistic crafts in their watches and we work with a lot of the same craftspeople. The important thing is to stick to your roots when you do so. It is also good for the individual artists, such as Anita Porchet, who prefer to work with a number of different brands rather than being tied to one particular brand.
How did the new watch with a new enamel technique – shadow enamel – come about?
Like in most cases for Hermès, it was the result of a meeting between the brand and a craftsman. In this case, when I met Olivier Vaucher he showed me a small disc of shadow enamel and I said that we had to do something together. You cannot do this type of thing by an Internet search or through an agency, it has to happen face to face. If we don’t have a new technique to present each year, it’s no big deal. After all, these artistic crafts are not inexhaustible. They have to bring something original.
The artistic theme for the brand this year is “nature at a gallop”. What possibilities does it offer?
There is an incredible richness of content around this theme and an amazing variety of creative expression for the artist. The Slim d’Hermès Pocket Panthère, inspired by the artwork of Robert Dallet, famous for his illustrations of big cats, is just one example.
How far in advance are such themes defined?
They are defined two years in advance because our creators need time to develop their ideas and prepare. Otherwise, we would not have enough time to react.
You have said that your favourite watch this year is the Slim d’Hermès Grand Feu enamel. But can you explain why?
Above all I thought it was interesting to use enamel on a watch dial but with a contemporary feel. It is the association between a traditional art such as enamel firing and the relatively contemporary look of the watch. It’s modern but timeless. For a watch to become my favourite, it needs to talk to me. I need to want to touch it and wear it. Its proportions and aesthetics need to appeal to me. But it’s not always as easy to explain why you like a particular watch. It is like when you meet somebody new, you just have a feeling.
Hermès is known for being a little bit off-beat, with its designs and its communication. Is it difficult to incorporate this spirit into a watch?
It’s difficult because watchmaking is a profession that takes itself seriously and it is very technical and meticulous. And yet we try to work with light-hearted themes, as we did with the Temps Suspendu, for example. There is a totally off-beat side to this watch, and this is what people expect from us. To some extent we like to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. But you have to find the right way to do this, to surprise people but to do so with good taste and elegance.
Hermès as a whole works with a considerable number of artistic crafts. Is it more difficult to apply them to gents’ watches than ladies’ watches?
No, I don’t think so. We have worked a lot on men’s watches over the past few years and we will gradually turn our attention to ladies’ watches over the coming years. After all, 80% of the brand’s products are aimed at women. We will continue to work on complications along the lines of the Temps Suspendu and the Heure Masquée because this is a little niche that we have carved out for ourselves. We have a lot of projects in the pipeline.
