It’s the late 1970s and creative director Henri d’Origny is working on a project for a Hermès watch. The Parisian firm already sells watch straps and has included the occasional timepiece in its catalogue, but has so far remained on the fringes of the watch industry. Until, that is, 1978 when Jean-Louis Dumas, managing director of Hermès, was appointed chairman of the group following his father’s death, and established a new subsidiary, La Montre Hermès SA in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. This would be the beginning of a new adventure for Hermès. As its watchmaking arm, La Montre Hermès SA would take charge of the production and commercialisation of Hermès watches, starting with the Arceau in 1978. Designed by Henri d’Origny, its round case extends into asymmetrical lugs whose shape is inspired by the stirrups on a horse’s saddle: a nod to Hermès’s equestrian origins in 1837 when Thierry Hermès set up his workshop, crafting harnesses, saddles and other riding paraphernalia. Contrasting with the simplicity of the round gold-plated case are the famous lugs, in steel, and the unusual sloping font of the 12 Arabic numerals, as though bending in a gust of wind.
This now iconic watch has become a creative platform for La Montre Hermès SA, carrying the spirit of the original design into an array of evolutions and variations. The Arceau catalogue now ranges from complications driven by in-house movements to hand-decorated dials. Iterations include a chronograph with a (surprisingly lightweight) titanium case, but also the Arceau Le Temps Voyageur; a delightful evocation of travel whose world-time function displays the time in 24 time zones, against an imaginary map of the world. The métiers d’art, watchmaking’s companion crafts, take centre-stage on the dials of the Arceau in versions for women. The Arceau Costume de Fêtes is a case in point: its dial is a dazzling display of miniature painting, leather marquetry and sequins. And what of the Arceau Petite Lune, whose dial looks for all the world like a star-studded sky. Blue lacquer brings nuances and reliefs to mother-of-pearl, while seven diamonds form a constellation of stars. On the eve of its 50th anniversary, the Arceau hasn’t aged a day. Forever young, it embraces each new era in a wonderful tribute to time-honoured expertise and the finest watchmaking tradition.
