Arceau H Déco

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Arceau H Déco - Hermès
1 minute read
Hermès showcases its precious know-how regarding mother-of-pearl marquetry and gemsetting skills with two new watches featuring a H Déco motif inspired by the eponymous tableware of the brand.

Designed by Henri d’Origny in 1978, the Arceau watch highlights two crafts in a new creation imbued with the Art Deco spirit. Crafted from mother-of-pearl marquetry and set with diamonds, a dial with a moving heart reinterprets the H déco pattern of the porcelain tableware: a black and white motif inspired by the ironwork adorning the boutique on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris.

Arceau H Déco

In the centre, slender hands sweep over two intertwined Hs, stamped on a mother-of-pearl disc that twirls to the rhythm of the wrist movements. In a contrasting duo, the black version is lit up by gemset hoops; while the white version, paved with 432 diamonds, is marked with arched gold decorative fillets. This meticulous work accomplished by the Hermès artisans requires two days of work for a single dial. The white gold base is first sculpted in preparation for the mother-of-pearl inlay, and then polished. The mother-of-pearl artisan carefully puts in place each fragment of the motif cut to just 0.2mm thick and the gemsetter finally adorns it with several hundred diamonds.

Arceau H Déco

Lit up by two rows of diamonds, as well as a rose-cut diamond on the crown, the 34mm round case in white gold houses the H1912 mechanical self-winding Manufacture Hermès movement, oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour and featuring a power reserve of 50 hours. It is topped by a sapphire crystal engraved with the Hermès logo that appears to be levitating. Its stirrup-inspired lugs secure it to a smooth black or ember alligator strap crafted in the Hermès Horloger workshops, as too is the case.

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