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.
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.
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.