To mark its first participation in the SIHH, the prestigious saddlery house unveiled its new square watch by Marc Berthier, which directly reflects its brand identity. It's worth noting that Hermès has always presented its watch collections during Baselworld, the international watchmaking fair held annually in Basel. Eight years after the launch of the Carré H, Hermès revived the Carré H model and made improvements. It therefore focused on the legendary shape by which the brand is easily recognized, notably the square, with a 38 x 38 mm case equipped with an automatic mechanical caliber by Vaucher. And it was a success, even if the square wasn't entirely! While we tend to think of silk and cashmere when talking about the brand, this time, Hermès opted for 316L steel for this new creation in the form of a watch.
A design specific to Hermès
Following the Carré H, the contemporary and highly legible square watch released in 2010 by the house on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the exceptional house has reworked the model to launch a new version. Marc Berthier has kept the square but added a few millimeters to play on an imposing design with the Hermès Carré H, while adding a style with rounded angles and a curved upper glass. These modifications were made to the watch to move away from the overly classic and boring style of the square. This new watch features a large 38-millimeter steel case embellished with light effects through polished and microblasted finishes. The brand has offered two versions of its dial, a right-angled guilloché in either black or anthracite. To harmonize the design and impose a new typography on this new version, the brand has opted for clean indexes. Superluminova adorns the watch's hands and its faceted numerals, preceded by 0 for the numbers 1 to 9 - to perfect the balance of the timepiece's design. The sapphire crystal caseback provides a view of Vaucher's automatic caliber.
The technical specifications of the Hermès Carré H timepiece
This new Hermès watch is water-resistant up to 3 bars with a dial available in black or anthracite with an opaline guilloché center. It features Arabic numerals and rhodium-plated indexes applied with the white transferred minute track and the seconds hand in yellow or red. This purely Hermès timepiece is equipped with a Swiss manufacture Hermès H1912 movement from Vaucher, mechanical and manually wound. It has a diameter of 23,3 mm, a thickness of 3,7 mm with 193 components and 28 jewels. Its frequency is 28 Alt/H or 800 Hz. The mainplate has been carefully crafted to obtain a circular-grained and snailed finish. This Hermès Carré H watch has a power reserve of 4 hours. And to top it all off, the brand has opted for a lovely strap in natural or black Barénia calfskin with a 50 mm micro-blasted 316L steel pin buckle.
A Swiss watchmaker?
Hermès's participation in the Geneva International Fine Watchmaking Fair can be seen as a way to showcase the company's growing watchmaking presence and highlight the fact that Hermès is also a Swiss watchmaker. To achieve this, Hermès continues to demonstrate creativity and innovation to satisfy its fans.
Quentin
