Slim d’Hermès Faubourg of Dreams lives up to its name: A central horse – the brand has always been proud of its equestrian background as a bridle and saddle maker that dates back to 1837 – is surrounded by a surreal, dreamlike combination of objects suspended in mid-air: An analogue telephone handset, an open bag, a flower with a chess-horse centre, spinning stars and planets, and a coffee cup spilling its liquid content. The motif hails from a silk scarf designed by British freelance illustrator Stuart Patience, launched in January 2024. “All my work is hand-drawn in ink, before adding colour digitally. My drawings are based on everyday observation, often combined with elements of surrealism and the absurd,” Mr. Patience writes on his website.
The 39.5-millimetre white gold case was designed by Philippe Delhotal, the creative director of Hermès Horloger, back in 2015. And for this new version he let his metiers d’art team go all in to “translate” the silk scarf illustration to a watch dial with a considerable three-dimensional depth.
The two main techniques used are miniature painting and engraving on an appliqué, and, to maximise the depth of the motif, the Hermès team used an aventurine-based disc as a foundation. This base disc also features a combination of hand-painted planets and stars, and is topped by a sapphire crystal ring, which holds the levitating objects mentioned above. These are also applied with a fine brush, in multiple layers, which adds a vivid touch.
The centre is dominated by a sculpted silvery horse holding the sword-shaped minute and hour hands on its chest. The silhouetted horse is facetted in a dreamlike combination made of diamonds and origami. These facets are achieved by a dyeing process involving abrasion before they are applied to the dial centre.
And what about the mechanics of this timepiece that comes in yellow and grey or blue and grey versions? It goes without saying that Hermès shows that it is a leader of fashion houses going into horology by using an in-house automatic manufacture movement. It is called Hermès H 1950, and is 30 millimetres wide and a mere 2.6 millimetres thick. A power reserve of 48 hours is more than enough, and the water resistance is, as one would expect on an artistic piece like this, 3 bar. Even though we are in the midst of summer – it is close to 30°C as I am writing this – you are not supposed to go swimming with a watch like this. The strap is made in Hermès’ workshop, where nearly 200 years of leather know-how is applied to grey or blue alligator.
In its decade of existence, Slim d’Hermès has been used both to show the brand’s horological capabilities, like with the Quantieme Perpetuel and Squelette Lune, and as a canvas for its metiers d’art – as in the case of Slim d’Hermès Faubourg of Dreams. This poetic, horological combination of the equestrian and the celestial, with an added touch of absurdity, comes in an exclusive limited edition totalling 24 pieces.
