WATCHES & TIMEPIECES 19
Photo : Anita Schlaefli
He is heroic and solitary , midway between com ic book character and Greek divinity . With Super H , Hermès opens up a new playful and creative interlude of Time as a new object from the House .
Slim d ’ Hermès Minuit au Faubourg plays on the worlds of pop art and Paris to create a light , off beat horological miniature , produced in two series of 24 timepieces each . Its theme is derived from a silk scarf designed in 2014 by Dimitri Rybaltchenko .
The Eiffel Tower stands out against a sky streaked with clouds and studded with aventurine stars , majestically overlooking the legendary sloping zinc Parisian roofs that reflect the bluish gleam of the moon and the rosy glow of the setting sun .
Photo : David Marchon
Photo : David Marchon
The dome of the Invalides can be seen in the distance , along with its neighbouring obelisk on Place de la Concorde . A few streets away , the wings of the Moulin Rouge spin in the summer wind . But the essential element lies elsewhere .
Where ? 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré . This is where « Hermès Sellier ” – as mentioned on the wall sign – took up residence in 1880 .
One thing is for sure : Super H will fly off draped in a soft luminescence , thanks to the artisans at Hermès Horloger . A beam of light made of Super-LumiNova is projected from the Eiffel Tower . At night , it sparkles near the dial surface , tracing the outlines of the Super H banner . All around it , the Parisian scene is hand-drawn in micropainting . Its multiple layers – particularly the thicker one in Super-LumiNova – give the dial a slightly grainy texture , like a canvas .
Entirely hand-crafted and resulting from more than 50 hours of work , each dial will be unique , framed by a 39.5 mm white gold case and powered by the Manufacture Hermès H1950 self-winding movement .
Photo : Anita Schlaefli
On the top floor sits a secret garden surrounded by a column-lined terrace . At the call of his name , beamed as an H from the top of the Eiffel Tower , Super H is ready to take flight . His cape flutters in the wind , revealing his initial : an orange-brown « H ». A superbly proud and majestic comic-strip Pegasus , he stirs the imagination : what will happen ? Why was he called ? Where will he fly to ?
Photo : David Marchon
www . hermes . com
Issue 55 2022 THE ART OF LUXURY