TIME UNCOVERED
This minute repeater watch blends mechanical transparency with artistic craftsmanship, by revealing its inner workings like a living landscape where time flows gracefully beneath the glass.
Marked by the Year of the Fire Horse, 2026 finds a natural echo at Hermès, whose equestrian world has inspired watchmaking for decades. Presented at the Watches and Wonders fair, the Arceau Samarcande explores this connection with an approach that is both mechanical and poetic, where time seems less indicated than breathed into life.
In this openwork interpretation, the material recedes to make way for the movement. The crystal dial crafted by Saint-Louis, available in blue or white, features a stylized horse’s head that reveals the architecture of the H1927 in-house caliber. The cutout extends across the right side of the dial, accompanied by italic Arabic numerals and a pearl-finished minute track, while a blued screw forms the animal’s eye. Through this opening, the mechanics of the 3hz automatic movement are visible; it is wound by a rotor decorated with the “Harnessed Duke” motif and offers a 48-hour power reserve.
But the true uniqueness of this piece lies in its minute repeater. The hammers, visible through the sapphire caseback, perform a mechanical ballet punctuated by two mirrored horses, transforming the passing of the hours into an almost intimate sonic vibration. Housed in the Arceau case designed by Henri d’Origny in 1978, here offered in a 38 mm diameter in gray or pink, the watch can be enhanced with diamonds on the bezel or even along the horse’s silhouette. Alligator, Barénia, Swift, or Athéna leather straps complete this composition where transparency, craftsmanship, and high-end mechanics interact with delicacy.
