ART-EMBRACED MATERIAL
The Parisian house, an absolute magician of time, is also an unequalled alchemist which adores merging different crafts and different periods for wrists… and eyes to take great pleasure in!
Over time, Hermès has expanded – brilliantly! – its realms of activity, as such embracing extraordinary new spheres. After its craft as a saddler and harness-maker and, driven by its passion for leather, the Parisian firm went on to in particular develop leather goods in the 1920s, work on silk when it introduced the first silk “carré” or square in 1937, followed by watchmaking in 1978 which was marked by the creation of the Arceau watch and, finally, table arts and décor with its first porcelain service in 1984. In order to marry together all this exceptional savoir-faire, Hermès imagined a model proposed as an extremely limited series of just 24 pieces: Arceau Harnais Français Remix.
Its name refers to a scarf created in 1957 and recently “remixed” (the design remains the same but the colors are warmer) which center stages a couple of white horses with harnesses and “caparisoned” with pink, lemon, green and blue hues. The miniaturized work of art, encircled by 82 diamonds, was reproduced in the traditional way on a Limoges porcelain dial. This ever-so delicate marvel, which required work spanning 5 phases from manipulating the raw bisque through to mounting the medallion on the dial disc, discreetly hosts the silvered leaf-style hour and minute hands. These are driven by the automatic manufacture H1912 caliber which delivers a power reserve of 50 hours and nestles at the heart of the 38 mm-diameter white gold case.
The Arceau Harnais Français Remix model is worn on a raspberry-colored alligator strap.
Price on request hermes.com
By Sharmila Bertin