TROTTING UNDER THE STARS
This new opus from the Parisian house endorses the platonic encounter of two artists, one the creator of the Arceau timepiece and the other of a famous graphic design center staging a horse trotting.
The iconic prancer, a sacred animal for the Parisian brand, embodies a never-ending source of inspiration. Galloping across the path of time on Hermès watch dials, it embraces the role of lucky charm, a powerful talisman perfectly portrayed through the new white gold Arceau Cheval Cosmique duo. This edition, limited to 24 pieces per reference, expresses the imagined encounter between two creatives, between Henri d’Origny who designed the famous timepiece with its asymmetric lugs back in 1978 and Gianpaolo Pagni, the Turin-based artist behind the motif adorning lacquered wooden trays and cashmere plaids which has now been adopted by these two watchmaking pieces.
But, above all, the dazzlingly-enchanting Arceau Cheval Cosmique illustrates incredible craftsmanship on the dial. The gold disc was engraved to recreate the undulating lines of waves then highlighted with a dash of black lacquer, just like Gianpaolo Pagni’s original design. Next, cut-out aventurine and mother-of-pearl shapes were poised on top, jigsaw-puzzle-style, to conjure up a starry or misty sky. Last but not least, the sculpted equine silhouette was delicately set on the dial, proposed as “grand format” or “petit format”, as described by Hermès in its own terminology. At the heart of this wonder, two silvered leaf-shaped hands hover over the hours and minutes.
The “grand format” version, with its aventurine-adorned dial, hosts a 41 mm-diameter case inside which the automatic H1837 caliber nestles and delivers a power reserve of 50 hours. Same autonomy for the H1912 caliber enclasped in the 38 mm-diameter case of the “petit format” model, boasting mother-of-pearl and white lacquer.
Price: CHF56,000 hermes.com
By Sharmila Bertin