Hermès makes watches now - what are the collectors saying?

This story is from GQ. Today, the giant brand is making a step forward and encourages you to think differently about luxury.

In a recent post, a watch fan and collector shows GQ's reporter his collection of six-figure pieces from fashion's most revered brands. This French brand is renowned for its grandiloquent silk scarves and bags. The collector was himself surprised that he bought the watches, as they didn't appeal to him at first and didn't resonate with his preferences. For a long time, it wasn't trendy to be a luxury brand in the watch universe, like a stigma. However, Hermès has arisen as an admirable contender to the famous Swiss brand. Plus, along with other fashion homes, the French brand uses its skill to make quality pieces, in whatever they're doing - be it a scarf or a watch.

The creative director for Hermès’s watches - Philippe Delhotal - is well aware of the critiques. Even though Hermès started making watches in 1928, buying elements and putting them together. But in 2006, Hermès began making its own activities, which was a key moment for collectors, as they wanted to see more, especially when it comes to technics and design. Maybe Hermes didn't feel ready at first, as they were looking for legitimacy.

So, the director knew what had to be done, and focused on high design. And the first blow was the Le Temps Suspendu, a device that suspended the ticking and tocking for an amount of time. The idea - although it wasn't something super special, has brought Hermes a prestigious award for best men's watch in 2011: the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve. How about that?

Hermès’s resurrection is due to the H08 watch, a unique design that stands outside the crowd. Even though the brand has made watches for just the last 10 years, it's coming strong from behind. Today, sports watches are in trend and dominate the market. But the French brand makes its own version of the trend. So how come a brand known for leather and scarves turns into creating luxury watches? It's all about a new signature. And as a design-forward fashion house - not an exclusive watchmaker - this whole process will be very different from what everybody else is doing. Because the H08 has been a tremendous discovery for the watch industry. After the release, Hermes sales rose by 72%! This means watches are a significant champion, rising another 62%, pushing it to be the brand's fastest-growing sort of creation. Gaining success very quickly, the H08 designates a nuanced change in the way watch collectors are considering their next investments.

The suspicion led to other fashion brands producing watches, but this hasn’t stopped different labels from testing with doing watches. During the past years, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Dolce & Gabbana chose to thoughtfully invest in watches. This is how J12, Tambour, and Don Carlo were born, and in 2022, even Gucci had their debut in watches. So what do all the watches have in common? For sure they have technical excellence, showing off their growth and expansion, and skills into real mechanical machines in a theatrical way.

This change in design is the same shift that made it possible for Cartier to make its comeback and land at the very top of watch trends during the latest years. What's more, people are discovering that design is just as essential as intricacies and technicals when it comes to watches. In fact, Hermes's watch H08 isn’t the only watch that is becoming more and more popular. There's also the Arceau Le temps Voyageur, a piece that features what at first glimpse seems to be a mundane map. However, the watch’s case has a mythical map of a fantasized Horse World, where nations have titles like Dressage. This piece, too, already has plenty of fans that are just making more room in their collections for the new Hermes luxury pieces.