THE SHADOW OF A RIDE
In order to bring the spirit of a drawing made for a silk carré onto the face of a watch, the Parisian maison has called upon the creative know-how of the métiers d’art and thus presents a duo of limited editions.
Five years before the Slim d’Hermès watch was born in 2015, artist Benoît Pierre Emery imagined the Parisian maison’s emblem in “a celestial ride done in gold stippling on silk” affixed to a carré. More than a decade later, this drawing of the animal’s almost mysterious silhouette is used to decorate the dial of a watch, the Slim d’Hermès Cheval de légende, offered in two versions, each limited to 24 pieces. For this unique creation, Hermès called upon a rare expertise which, like any other art, requires meticulous skill.
Because it has a face that is wide open to the world, defined by a thin bezel here lined with 52 baguette-cut diamonds, the Slim d’Hermès lends itself magnificently to the talent of the craftsman who, on a white enameled disc, has carved tiny alveoli to nestle beads in rose gold or bluish enamel. The dial is then fired so that the high temperatures amalgamate and fix these small marbles, thus materializing the contours of the galloping horse designed by Benoît Pierre Emery. At the center of this delicate picture, two long, slender hands, typical of the collection, mark the hours and minutes. The time information is provided by the H1950 caliber, an extra-thin automatic manufacture movement with a micro-rotor winding system that guarantees a 48-hour power reserve, housed in a white gold case measuring 39.5mm in diameter. This pair of watches by Hermès is worn on a matte alligator leather strap, chantilly colored for the variant with gold beads or sapphire blue for the model with enamel beads, closed with a pin buckle.
