Mind, Body & Soul
From cases and dials to movements and even straps, Hermès’ horology division ticks every box that defines a complete watch manufacture – and then some. Celine Yap visits its French and Swiss ateliers.
Hermès has long developed a reputation for itself through forging its own path and its watch line is no exception.
TO BE A master, you have to own your craft. That’s what the Hermès horology division has been working towards since it was officially established in 1978. It didn’t become a full-fledged manufacture straight away – or rather, couldn’t, because the Swiss watch industry was still grappling with the Quartz Crisis.
But La Montre Hermès (as it was christened) held its own, took its time. It observed the industry, defined its clientele, learned the skills and understood the challenges. Most importantly, it developed a unique identity that allowed it to explore creative avenues in haute horlogerie. Watches like Le Temps Suspendu, L’Heure Impatiente and L’Heure de la Lune far exceed the standard definition of what a timepiece can do and could look like.
Today the division operates as any complete watch manufacture does. Cases and dials come from Les Ateliers d’Hermès Horloger, an amalgamation of dial maker Natéber and case maker Joseph Erard, both of which Hermès acquired in 2012/13.
Through Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, of which Hermès owns a 25 per cent stake, it secures a steady stream of in-house manufactured base movements, Calibres H1837 and H1925. With an annual production of 12,000 movements a year, Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier is a movement specialist that owns a network
of suppliers providing everything from bridges, plates, wheels, the escapement, balance, hair spring and micro-components such as screws.
For La Montre Hermès, Vaucher has a dedicated production run with its own movement specifications as laid out by the maison. All Hermès watches that feature a Vaucher movement must come with a sapphire caseback. They must also be decorated and finished to order.
Expect the usual flourishes such as chamfering, perlage, Côtes de Genève, brushed sunray or mirrorpolished finishing.
Then there’s the uniquely Hermès decorative style known as Semis de H, where the bridges and oscillating mass are carpeted with tessellated Hs. Completed with alternating matte and shiny finishes, this bold pattern modernises the watch in an instant.
But even though the movement is, in essence, the watch, La Montre Hermès views every part of the timepiece with equal importance, even the strap. Since 2006, all its leather straps come from a dedicated workshop in Les Ateliers de la Montre Hermès – its headquarters in Bienne, Switzerland.
The musky scent of natural leather sets this room apart from all others in the manufacturing process.
Its inventory room is packed with skins in names and colours exclusive to Hermès: Barenia, the all-time favourite; luxurious alligator skin in lisse (agate stone polished) or matte; Swift in an array of bright colours; the grained calfskin Epsom; and Ostrich which is available for special orders only.
Every watch comes with two strap components: the sanglon, which has the fitting holes, and the boucleteau, which is attached to the buckle and loop. As the artisan demonstrates, the leather sits on top of a lining known as Zermatt and in between the leather and the Zermatt is an ultra-resistant synthetic material called the viledon, put in place to prolong the lifespan of the strap.
All three layers are meticulously glued together and then saddle-stitched by hand using the traditional double-needle technique, flaxen thread interwoven like a perfectly choreographed dance routine. Even the loops are stitched by hand, where some models are finished with a special stitching on the underside that forms an H.
That’s the thing about Hermès. Everything it does stems from a desire to not just do something, but to turn it into a beautiful work of art.
Hermès developed a unique identity that allowed it to explore creative avenues in haute horlogerie.