On the new Hermès H08, Laurent Dordet, CEO of Hermès Watches, told sister publication Lifestyle Asia: “We wanted to create a contemporary watch, strongly anchored in the Hermès all-terrain, ‘multi-vital’ masculine universe. It was a desire to express our values, to embody them. This timepiece embodies ‘the Hermès take on contemporary masculinity’.”
Indeed, possessed of taut and flowing lines, Hermès is quick to not refer to the H08 as a sports watch because “it isn’t built for sporting activities in mind, but rather for daily wear” but for sure it possesses qualities watch lovers seek in a luxury sports watch.
Contemporary yet timeless, the new Hermès H08 watch fits perfectly into the Hermès men’s universe as envisioned by Creative Director Véronique Nichanian. It is not an integrated bracelet sports watch but the Hermès H08 is definitely a departure from the Maison’s dressier timepieces.
Nichanian has been shaping over the past three decades, influencing the Maison’s perfumer Christine Nagel during her own creation of the H24, their latest men’s scent. Like the H24 fragrance that breaks the conventions, the new Hermès H08 is a sporty timepiece with never before seen case architecture that offers a distinct everyday-wear quality.
At once serious and sensual, the Hermès H08 requires the watchmakers who craft it to demonstrate a flair for detail and meticulous care. It’s not a Arceau L’Heure de la Lune for sure but that is not to say that it isn’t complex to make. A certain delicate balance is required to maintain a robust yet sophisticated persona that is hallmark of any Hermès objet d’art. The enigmatic Hermès H08 watch is evocative of the Maison’s penchant for astute graphics, mathematics and metaphysics.
Like sister Slim d’Hermès Quantième Perpétuel with Slim d’Hermes font specially created by graphic designer Philippe Apeloig, the new Hermès H08 watch bears distinctive original typography as well.
If the distinctive numerals including matching 0 and 8 look familiar, look again at the sporty watch case of the H08 with its circular dial framed by a squarcle (square-circle) case with softened edges, with its angles and curves were merging into a seamless whole. It is a physical manifestation of that metaphor where 0 is representative of nothingness and emptiness, meeting the infinite horizons of the figure 8, to wit: A journey between nothing and everything echoing the mystery of time when the good Lord himself first spoke it into existence.
The new Hermès H08 line offers three large cushion-shaped models with a screw- down crown. Among them, a graphene-filled composite case, topped by a satin-brushed and polished ceramic bezel. Its black gold-coated dial is punctuated by a minutes track, luminescent Arabic numerals, and black nickel-coated hands displaying the hours, minutes, central seconds, and date at half past four. It is paired with a black rubber strap secured by a titanium butterfly clasp. Two other variants – the first in matt black DLC-coated titanium and the second in satin-brushed titanium – frame a black nickel-coated dial and are teamed with a blue or black webbing band, or a black or orange rubber strap.
Driven by a mechanical self-winding Manufacture Hermès H1837 movement with a power reserve of 50 hours, we spoke to then-CEO of La Montre Hermès Luc Perramond in 2012 where he told us that the workhorse calibre was increased in thickness from the original 3.5 mm to 3.7 mm in order to increase rigidity and thus reliability. This increased space allowed a new system for winding and boosted the specifications so that it could obtain Chronofiable certification. In addition to its toughness and comfort, the woven strap specially developed for the Hermès H08 watch epitomises a style that is as sporty as it is sophisticated, entirely consistent with the world of Hermès menswear.
New Hermès H08 Price & Specs
Case 39mm robust and ultra-light graphene-filled composite case with sunburst satin-brushed ceramic bezel/ Satin-brushed titanium case with matt black DLC coating
and titanium bezel/ Satin-brushed titanium case with titanium bezel and 100 meters resistance
Movement Automatic Hermès Manufacture H1837 movement with 50 hours power reserve
Price Starting from S$7,900. Buy it here.