Wow Watch Wednesday: Hermès Arceau Le Temps suspendu
At Baselworld this year La Montre Hermès, the watch-making subsidiary of the family-owned luxury powerhouse Hermès, reiterated its intention to be recognized as a credible and capable player in the realm of haute horology with the unveiling of its most daring creation yet; the Arceau Le Temps suspendu.
Getting It Right
It’s no secret that Hermès has a strong focus on quality, to the point of being obsessive, and demands nothing short of the same from its suppliers even if this results in production delays. That is why, despite being first introduced at Basel World 2011, the Arceau Time Suspended piece was only officially launched to the market a few weeks ago at an imaginative media event in Beijing after the man responsible for the unique movement, Mr. Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, had satisfied himself that it was 100% ready.
Whilst this may seem like somewhat of an unorthodox approach Hermès remains one of the few luxury houses that still firmly believes in and respects the notion that the achievement of perfection requires both time and patience.
After all, cutting corners really is the antithesis of luxury.
Take Control Of Your Time
As the name suggests the theme of this new timepiece is all about suspending time, or more to the point, taking back control of your own time. Ever found yourself in a situation where you thought “I wish this moment would never end?” Well, now it doesn’t have to, at least not in the traditional sense anyway!
All too often our enjoyment of those rare, surreal experiences in life are marred by our conscious knowledge of time passing. There’s always somewhere else you need to be, some other task you need to attend to, some other demand on your precious time. With this new creation Hermès gives you the ability to literally suspend time and exist for a minute, an hour, a day completely within your own world.
It sounds fanciful, and it is, which is what makes it so attractive. As the English philosopher Francis Bacon puts it (rather ominously too, I might add):
“Life, an age to the miserable, and a moment to the happy”
So why not take the time to enjoy your happiness? It’s true that time waits for no man, but surely there are moments where we don’t have to be so painfully obsessed with measuring its fleeting passage?
Which brings me to the Acreau Time Suspended itself, a timepiece that blends the practical with the impractical in such a delightful fashion that you almost believe it could stop time.
From Fantasy To Reality
The concept of being able to control the progression of time within a mechanism designed solely to measure its passage seems at first a relatively straight-forward one, and indeed this is not the first time such a notion has been proposed. However by the time Wiederrecht was able to decisively claim victory he had an additional two patents to his name – one for its construction and the other for the play reducing gear teeth – and the development of the movement had been in process for almost four years (although Wiederrecht only came on board within the last year or so when it became clear that the incumbent movement maker could not make Hermès’ vision a reality.)
So how does it work? Well according to the brand the running time and suspended time phases are coordinated by two synchronized column wheels with one driving the hours, and the other the minutes coupled with the date. In addition there are three retrograde mechanisms, two of which are 360° retrogrades (those that drive the hour and minute hands).
To suspend time the wearer simply needs to press a button at 9 o’clock and enjoy the show. In a flash the date hand disappears completely and the minute and hour hand fly to an impossible position in timekeeping – specifically the hour hand is just before 12 o’clock, the minute hand just after. If you’re confused take a second to look down at your watch and you’ll quickly see that this display of time is impossible on a conventional analogue watch face.
What really makes this piece special in my opinion though is that even though Hermès invites you to simply forget about the passage of time for a while your Arceau watch never will. Sure on the surface it’ll play it cool and make you feel like it is suspended in time with you but beneath the beautifully finished face the mechanism is still humming along efficiently performing its most essential function. No matter how long you’ve spent in suspended time as long as the automatic movement has received sufficient kinetic power it will automatically display the current time and date when the button at 9 o’clock is pressed again.
After all, it’s one thing to suspend time, it’s another thing entirely to lose it.
It’s Got The Brains And The Beauty – It’s Just Not Fair!
For me, when I think Hermès I think understated elegance – it just looks good effortlessly. So it comes as no surprise that the Arceau Le Temps suspend is as impressive aesthetically as it is technically. Presented in a 43mm case in your choice of rose gold or steel (with the steel versions offering the additional choice of a black or silvered dial) the herringbone guilloche dial motif bears the Hermès hallmark. Everything appears well-balanced and uncluttered, nothing on the dial is unnecessary.
The Final Word
Although La Montre Hermès has been making watches for quite some time now this is their first serious foray into the world of high-end watch-making and they seem intent on blazing their own trail. Unlike many of the other high-end fashion brands that have come before them they haven’t been content just to stick a tourbillion into an existing model and then attempt to pass it off as haute horology. To me this speaks volumes about the brand’s commitment to watch-making and I will be very interested to see what they come up with next, especially given that this is a brand that has creativity and resources in equal and abundant measure.
For more information please visit the official Hermès website: www.hermes.com
Category: Wow Watch Wednesday
These untouched photos really do this watch justice. I wasn’t really sold on it with the enhanced pics, but I’m now officially in love.