If you ask the average watch enthusiast to name five brands that are doing the most for watch design right now, they’d probably hem and haw and name a handful of indies like Ming and AnOrdain, and maybe a couple of big names like Bvlgari and Hublot. What your average enthusiast will likely leave off the short list is any mention of Hermès. This is an understandable oversight. The brand, after all, is primarily known for its handbags, scarves, and high-end horse gear, not watches. Despite this, the Parisian luxury brand has released a steady stream of convention-defying watches that can — in this writer’s opinion — stand shoulder-to-shoulder with pretty much any other brand in the game. Foremost among them is the H08, a line of sports watches introduced in 2021, and today’s two new editions in white and blue only strengthen the case.
The two new 39mm styles in Bleu de Malte and Blanc Chantilly, respectively, make colourful use of the H08’s signature cushion-shaped case. Materiality has always been a big part of the H08’s appeal, and as such the cases are crafted from a braided glass fibre composite — a similar idea to carbon fibre — with satin-brushed ceramic bezels and colour-coordinated rubber straps. Both are powered by the self-winding Hermès Manufacture H1837 movement with a 50-hour power reserve, and are water-resistant to 100m. They are also unmistakable, so you’ll probably have a strong feeling about them either way. And in a world awash in mundane sports watch designs, that’s a good thing.
While Hermès’ ascension to the main stage of watchmaking (their booth at Watches & Wonders Geneva is always a highlight—this year featured a house-sized kinetic musical sculpture by French artist Jean-Simon Roch), its relationship to timekeeping began in the 1920s when the famed saddlemaker started crafting leather watch straps. In 1928, the brand introduced the Ermeto, a leather-wrapped pocket watch with an automatic winding mechanism activated by sliding the case open and closed. In 1978 the brand established La Montre Hermès SA in Bienne, Switzerland and introduced the Arceau, a watch whose asymmetric, stirrup-inspired lugs and italicized typography remain key features of its modern successors.
The Clipper followed in 1981, with a bezel resembling a ship’s porthole, and a decade later, the Cape Cod, whose Margiela-designed Double Tour strap is a modern fashion classic. The 21st century saw Hermès transition into high-end mechanical watchmaking, supported by a 25% stake in famed movement maker Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, which supplies the movement for the H08 and many others. By acquiring specialists in dial and case making, Hermès has continued to expand and refine its watch collection in recent years, with releases like the Arceau L’heure de la lune, Arceau Samarcande minute repeater, and some truly spectacular handcrafted dials.
All of which brings us back to the H08. Now available in more than 20 variations, including chronograph and skeleton-dial models, and a wide array of colours, including Hermès orange (naturally), it has become emblematic of the brand’s watchmaking presence in recent years. If you can’t handle a bit of French whimsy, it might not be for you, but you’d never call it mundane.
Learn more about the new Hermès H08 here.
