At Watches & Wonders, Hermès Revisited its Legendary Le temps Suspendu collection

Each year, Hermès invites different artists to decorate its booth at W&W, and this time, the visual artist Sarah-Anaïs Desbenoit took on the task. She crafted a video installation that turned the exterior of the booth into sort of a train coach. Through its windows, visitors could observe a variety of landscapes that appeared, disappeared, and transformed — blurring the perception of time and its passage.

The complex relationship with time and its nonlinearity has long been a central theme for Hermès. They have mastered the art of conveying this nonlinearity and engaging in a playful interaction with time, aligning with current mood in the industry. This clever engagement with time began 14 years ago, in 2011, with the release of the first Arceau Le temps suspendu watch that featured a new complication, which allowed the owner to suspend their personal time. These watches were showcased at the Baselworld  watch exhibition in 2011, creating a real splash and earning Hermès Le Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève for the best men's watch. The concept of playing with time — stopping, reversing, concealing — is quintessentially Hermès, reflecting their approach to luxury, which is both sophisticated and light-heartedly ironic. The renowned watch engineer Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and his atelier Agenhor assisted Hermès in realising this concept through a special retrograde module. By pressing a pusher, the time display was paused: the hands assumed a surreal position around 12, impossible at any other moment, and the hand in the date window vanished completely. That was it: no more stress from time racing ahead or, conversely, dragging slowly. However, the mechanism inside continued to measure time impartially, and after pressing the button again, the exact time and date were displayed once more. There is so much poetry and philosophy in this approach.

And so, the first Arceau Le temps suspendu returns – with some changes, of course, but still close enough to the original. That's why the subtitle of this collection is "La Genèse."  The main difference is that the three new gold models – two in white and one in pink gold – feature more colours on the dial and straps: burgundy rouge sellier (matte rouge sellier alligator strap), light brown brun déssert (matte étoup alligator strap), and galvanic blue (matte blue abysse alligator strap). The dial’s central part is made of sapphire glass to reveal the mechanism. Then there is the size: the latest model, in line with current trends, fits into a 42 mm case, which is 1 mm smaller than the previous one, but its general outlines remain unchanged, and the pusher, which stops the time, is still at the same 9 o'clock position. And, of course, there’s the mechanism: the very first models had an automatic ETA mechanism with an Agenhor module, but now this module is placed into in house caliber H1837. 

In addition, the new edition of the Cut d’Hermès collection, which was shown last year, was crafted with the same complication. However, they increased the size from 36 mm to 39 mm, making the watch suitable for any wrist, including a full-size male one. Instead of a date window, there is a 24-second counter (like the Faubourg 24). When the watch is in the temps suspendu mode, this hand moves against its usual course, as was done in the women's version of the Arceau back in 2013. This is the fourth instalment of the Le temps suspendusaga, following Arceau, Dressage, and Slim d’Hermès.

In the world of Hermès, time can take on various forms. The new jewelry watch, Maillon Libre, presents a unique appearance. The watch is available in two versions: a bracelet and a brooch, with the latter being particularly captivating. It can be worn around the neck on a leather cord, covered with a cloche, or displayed as a brooch on the lapel or sleeve of a jacket (including a man’s jacket), above the usual place for a watch. This is both incredibly beautiful and very witty. Currently, there are three versions: one in white gold with a matching dial and an imperial topaz at the center, one in pink gold with a matching dial and a terracotta tourmaline, and one in white gold with an onyx dial and an indicolite tourmaline.

However, the social media champion was undoubtedly the Arceau Rocabar de Rire watch. When you press the magic pusher, a horse from the namesake scarf, painted by Dmitry Rybalchenko, which we recently saw on the decorations of the Saut Hermès at the Grand Palais, sticks its tongue out on the watch dial. This automaton left no one indifferent.

Courtesy: Hermès

Text: Elena Stafyeva