Hermès watches

Swiss Watchmaking With Parisian Charm

Most people know Hermès as a manufacturer of luxury clothing and leather goods. But watches have long been a part of the Parisian maison's catalog. Hermès was making watches as early as 1912. In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, the brand collaborated with Movado and Universal Genève, among others, to offer watches under its own label. Since 1978, Hermès has been producing their own watches in the Swiss town of Biel/Bienne.

Hermès' timepieces speak their own unique design language. Highlights include the Arceau with its asymmetrical lugs, the Heure H with its H-shaped case, and the Galop d'Hermès inspired by a stirrup. Other models, such as the square Carré H and the Hermès H08, are also highly popular.

Hermès make most of their watches out of stainless steel, but also produce timepieces in titanium and gold. Some women's models feature diamonds. The watches come with quartz or automatic mechanical movements. Among the latter are calibers from movement manufacturers ETA and Sellita, as well as in-house calibers from Hermès.

Reasons to Buy a Hermès Watch

• A unique design
• Quartz and automatic calibers, some in-house
• A wide range of men's and women's models
• Available in stainless steel, gold, or titanium

Prices at a Glance: Hermès Watches

How much do Hermès watches cost?

Depending on the year of manufacture, materials used, and number of complications, the price for a Hermès watch can range from roughly 550 to over 32,000 USD. The most affordable models are quartz-powered timepieces from the 1970s and 80s. The majority of the brand's current models are priced between 1,900 and 3,300 USD. For a watch with elaborate complications or an in-house caliber, the price quickly climbs to between 10,900 and 16,400 USD. Gold models and watches with diamonds occupy the uppermost price segment.

Arceau: The Perennial Favorite

The Arceau is an important watch for Hermès, because it is the first timepiece designed and produced by La Montre Hermès, founded in 1978. Today, the Arceau is a full-blown collection with models for every wrist.

You'll recognize watches in the Arceau collection by their round cases and asymmetrical, looped lugs. While the upper lugs protrude visibly from the case, the lugs on the bottom are almost flush with the case. The design was inspired by a horse's bridle, and is a throwback to the company's beginnings as a maker of saddles and other equestrian gear.

The Arceau also boasts an uncluttered dial, with cursive Breguet numerals and slender leaf hour and minute hands. Watches in the series generally do not feature a second hand. Exceptions to this rule are older quartz models like the Arceau Chronograph and the Arceau Grande Lune, which comes with a moon phase display and full calendar.

Highlights in the collection include the Arceau Le Temps Voyageur and the Arceau Squelette, the latter of which features an elaborately skeletonized automatic Sellita caliber SW-300 that is visible from both sides, thanks to the additional sapphire crystal case back. The Le Temps Voyageur, on the other hand, has a unique GMT display that shows the time at home in a window at 12 o'clock and the local time using an off-center dial. The latter dial can be moved along a ring of city names, each representing a different time zone. With each manoeuvre, the hour hand also jumps forward or backward, making it easy to change the local time display to the current time zone.

Prices for watches in the Hermès Arceau collection range from around 1,400 USD for ladies' models with quartz movements to approximately 22,000 USD for complicated models like the Le Temps Voyageur.

The H on Your Wrist: Heure H

The most striking feature of the Hermès Heure H collection is the shape of the case, inspired by the H of the brand's logo. The dial is square and features Arabic numerals or diamond indices and narrow sword hands. Select models are also available in "iced out" versions, with a dial and case set entirely with diamonds.

Hermès offers the Heure H in various sizes, making it suitable for every wrist. You can also choose between watches made of stainless steel, rose gold, or satin-brushed titanium. All timepieces in the series are powered by quartz calibers.

Depending on the size, material, and gemstone setting, plan to spend anywhere between 1,000 and 18,000 USD.

Cape Cod and Nantucket

The watches in the Cape Cod collection have been part of the Hermès catalog since 1991 and feature a square dial and rectangular case with integrated looped lugs. The Arabic numerals on the dial echo the design of the case, giving the watches a modern feel.

Another characteristic feature of the Cape Cod are the small thorns on the case at 6 and 12 o'clock, which serve as spacers for the strap. The watch normally comes on a high-quality leather strap (as you'd expect from the brand), but smaller models in the line also offer a choice of wrap strap or stainless steel bracelet.

If you don't like the rectangular shape of the Cape Cod, you should take a look at the Cape Cod Tonneau. As the name suggests, this watch has a tonneau-shaped case.

Hermès primarily produces their watches in stainless steel, but ladies' models in the Cape Cod line are also available in rose gold and with diamonds. Inside the watches, you'll find both quartz and automatic calibers.

Prices for a Hermès Cape Cod start at around 1,200 USD for a quartz-powered stainless steel ladies' watch and climb to roughly 13,200 USD for rose gold and diamond-encrusted models.

Nantucket

The Nantucket is a smaller version of the Cape Cod. It has a similar design language, but is somewhat narrower. The design pushes the shape of the dial into a rectangle rather than a square, making the watch look a bit like a stretched-out version of the Cape Cod.

With its 29-mm diameter, the Nantucket is first and foremost a ladies' watch. This is also evident in the sometimes quite playful gemstone settings, which transform the watch into a real piece of jewelry.

The Hermès Nantucket will set you back between 1,600 and 8,500 USD.

Hermès H08 and Carré H: For Him

Watches in the Hermès H08 and Carré H collections measure 39, 42, and 45 mm in diameter and are thus geared toward larger wrists. Both lines offer timepieces with particular shapes: the Carré H is square, while the H08 offers a mix of rectangular and tonneau-shaped cases. Hermès offsets these shapes by giving the timepieces round dials.

Both the H08 and the Carré H are fitted with automatic in-house calibers. The Carré H is powered by the caliber H1912, while the H08 is equipped with the caliber H1837. Both movements boast a 50-hour power reserve and display the time using central hour, minute, and second hands. The H1837 also comes with a date display at 4:30.

You can call a stainless steel Carré H your own for around 6,150 USD. The Hermès H08 is available in titanium, graphene, or rose gold and will set you back between 4,300 and 16,500 USD, depending on the version.

Faubourg: For Slender Wrists

The Hermès Faubourg is a classic collection of women's watches. The line offers round timepieces measuring just 15 mm across. These models are available in rose or white gold, and often come with diamond settings.

The Faubourg's most striking feature is its lugs, which – in keeping with Hermès tradition – are inspired by a horse's bridle. A high-quality leather strap or gold link bracelet ensures a secure fit.

Prices for a Hermès Faubourg depend on the exact edition and range from 4,300 to 33,000 USD.

Médor, Kelly, and Galop d'Hermès

The Médor, Kelly, and Galop d'Hermès collections offer ladies' watches with unique designs. The Kelly, for example, was inspired by the "Kelly bag" once made famous by Grace Kelly. The bracelet replicates the clasp on the famous bag, and the watch itself looks like a small padlock. The watch changes hands on Chrono24 for between roughly 550 and 1,650 USD.

Médor

For the Médor collection, Hermès looked at archival dog collar designs. The large pyramid-shaped studs, distributed at regular intervals on the calfskin bracelet, are striking, and the central pyramid is equipped with a mechanism that flips up to reveal the watch itself.

Plan to spend around 1,000 USD on a simple Médor in stainless steel. More elaborately designed, diamond-set versions, however, will set you back upwards of 10,000 USD.

Galop d’Hermès

The Galop d'Hermès collection debuted in 2019, making it one of the newest watch collections in the Hermès catalog. The quirky design came from Ini Archibong, who was inspired by the shape of a stirrup. The result is a bell-shaped case with a crown at 6 o'clock, directly between the lugs.

Hermès offers the quartz-powered watch in sizes of 32 and 40 mm, and in rose gold or stainless steel. Diamond-encrusted models are also available. Prices range from approximately 2,600 to 9,400 USD.

Hermès and the Apple Watch

Since Apple launched the first Apple Watch in 2015, Hermès has been one of the first third-party manufacturers to produce high-quality straps for the smartwatch. The partnership even resulted in Apple releasing a special Hermès edition of each generation of the Apple Watch. These models are technically identical to the regular Apple Watch versions, but come with a Hermès strap and exclusive Hermès-style Watch Faces. The special edition smartwatch is also presented in the signature Hermès orange packaging.

The official list price for an Apple Watch Hermès Series 8 is 1,249 or 1,399 USD, depending on the size and your choice of strap. You can save quite a bit by opting for an older model. Prices for a series 7 model, for example, start at approximately 825 USD on Chrono24.

The History of Hermès

Thierry Hermès opened a small saddlery in Paris in 1837. The quality of Hermès' saddles and harnesses soon became known well beyond the city limits, and Hermès products were in demand throughout Europe. Over time, Hermès expanded their product line and began manufacturing exquisite leather goods like handbags, belts, and wallets. The first Hermès watch appeared in 1912, and was a one-off for the daughter of Émile Hermès, the grandson of the company's founder.

However, it wasn't until the 1920s that Hermès began to include wristwatches in their standard catalog. Starting in 1928, Hermès had their watches made by Swiss watch manufacturer Movado. Universal Genève also produced watches for Hermès in the 1930s and 40s.

In 1978, Hermès founded the subsidiary La Montre Hermès in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, where the brand has been manufacturing its own watches ever since. About a decade ago, Hermès acquired Natéber SA and Joseph Erard SA, which were merged in 2017 to form Les Ateliers d'Hermès Horloger. As a result, Hermès now produces its own dials and cases as well.