Hermès H08 Graphene
The Hermès H08 Graphene belongs to a small but highly impactful collection of sports watches featuring modern styling, expert finishing and contemporary materials. The H08 series is comprised of three models; Carl Eady has chosen to focus on the top of the range reference, the Hermès H08 Graphene.
Image – Hermès H08 Graphene with black rubber strap – Picture by ©JoelVonAllmen
Introduction
The Hermès story began in Paris in 1837 when Thierry Hermès, a Parisian harness-maker, opened his workshop in Basse-du-Rempart. His attention to detail, exceptional craftsmanship and appreciation for the needs of his clientele led to him building a loyal and substantial customer base. The reins of the business passed to his son, Charles-Èmile. In 1880, the company relocated its workshops to Faubourg Saint-Honoré which remains the location of its headquarters today.
Image – Hermès H08 Titanium and DLC with orange strap – Picture by ©JoelVonAllmen
Perpetuating the entrepreneurial spirit of his father and grandfather, Èmile Hermès steered the brand to greater heights during the 1920s. He enlarged the company’s product portfolio, introducing ready to wear clothing, jewellery and watches. For its first foray into the world of watches, Hermès formed co-branding partnerships with giants such as Jaeger Le-Coultre and Universal Genève. However, it was not until 1978 that the Hermès brand, then under the stewardship of Jean-Louis Dumas, opened its own watchmaking facility, ‘La Montre Hermès’, in Biel, Switzerland. Initially, the company produced quartz watches, which were in vogue at the time.
Image – Hermès H08 Titanium and DLC with blue strap – Picture by ©JoelVonAllmen
It was not until 2003 when Hermès, in order to engage in mechanical watchmaking, sought the expertise of highly respected movement maker, ‘Vaucher’. The first Hermès watch incorporating a Vaucher movement was the equine inspired ‘Dressage’ timepiece. The quality of Vaucher calibres and the firm’s expertise led Hermès to acquire a 25% stake in the company back in 2006. This signalled a new era for the brand enabling it to produce its own ‘in-house’ calibre, the H01, in 2008. Since then, Hermès has acquired an excellent reputation for watchmaking, picking up numerous GPHG awards along the way.
Image – Hermès H08 Titanium with black strap – Picture by ©JoelVonAllmen
Recently, the brand launched the Hermès H08 collection, celebrating modern design while referencing vague echoes of the past. Indeed, this playful use of opposites and contrasts has delivered dramatic and eye-catching results.
Case
Throughout Hermès’ journey, it has enjoyed success by anticipating its customers’ desires and creating luxurious items that are truly fit for purpose. The H08 case is an insightful design, hitting an ‘on trend’ sweet spot with its 39mm diameter and commendable 11mm thickness. Its cushion shape bears a resemblance to the original Dressage design lines, though the combination of modern materials and expert finishing place it firmly in the present-day territory.
Image – Picture by ©David Marchon
The short lugs fit neatly with the strap, such that they appear almost seamless while contributing to the wearability. This watch distinguishes itself from its titanium-clad brothers, both in colour and material finish, being fashioned from an ultra-light yet incredibly strong graphene-filled composite material. It displays a light-absorbing matt finish, which sharply contrasts with the sunburst and satin-brushed black ceramic bezel. This is complemented by a highly polished screw-down black ceramic crown and a black-tinted sapphire caseback. The model’s features are dark, distinctly masculine and convey an understated confidence. The unobtrusive nature of the H08 makes it a perfect everyday watch, being legible, stylish and extremely lightweight at just 76 grammes. The dial of the Hermès H08 Graphene is viewed through a toughened, anti-reflective sapphire crystal.
Images – Pictures by ©David Marchon
Dial
In perfect harmony with the rest of the watch, the dial components encompass black and grey hues. The outer dial is black-gold treated with a grained finish. At its periphery, there is a slight upward curvature which helps it blend seamlessly into the case. It is separated from the corresponding grained centre by a satin brushed circular track with grey transferred markers.
Image – Pictures by ©David Marchon
The hour and minute hands are minimalist in design, baton shape and coated in black nickel. Despite their slender proportions, the hands are decidedly legible and decorated with a light touch of Super-LumiNova®. Spanning the diameter of the dial centre is a fine seconds hand, offering a lone dash of colour courtesy of its orange Super-LumiNova® filled arrowhead.
Image – Pictures by ©David Marchon
As is often the case with Hermès, the numerals carry a story. For the H08, a whole new set of Arabic numerals were designed for the collection. The unique typeface combines straight edges with elegantly curved corners. These are especially noticeable on the numerals depicting ‘0’ and ‘8’ which cleverly mimic the overall case shape. Each black nickel-coated index is applied by hand and sits proudly above the dial, reinforcing the watch’s luxury credentials. Between the hour markers at 4 and 5, there is a small date window displaying the days of the month with the same distinctive typeface.
Images – Pictures by ©David Marchon
Movement
Powering the H08 is the Hermès Manufacture movement H1837. Its name is significant, referencing the year that Hermès’ journey commenced. Visible through the exhibition caseback, the in-house movement has much to offer, hardly surprising given the brand’s stake in Vaucher, who developed the movement with Hermes. The finishing of the movement is of the highest order. The silver-toned base plate features expert perlage and the bridges, rotor and balance cock incorporate a laser-etched Hermès ‘H’ pattern throughout. The balance wheel can be seen, busily beating at 4 Hz. The Calibre H1837 is self-winding and has a power reserve of 50 hours.
Images – Pictures by ©David Marchon
Strap
For a brand whose history began with crafting the finest leather, it is noteworthy that a leather strap option is not offered with the H08 collection. Hermès has instead opted for either woven or rubber bands in this collection, which will no doubt appeal to those discerning clients who favour more sustainable materials. The H08 Graphene edition is appointed with a sumptuous black rubber strap. On the inside, the Hermès ‘H’ pattern is repeated, demonstrating a pleasing attention to detail. Some versions of the H08 are offered with a choice of straps. Irrespective of the case and strap selected, each strap integrates seamlessly with the ultra-modern case, delivering agreeable levels of wearer comfort.
Image – Hermès H08 Titanium with metal bracelet – Picture by ©JoelVonAllmen
Such comfort is further heightened with the black titanium high tech butterfly clasp fitted to the Hermès H08 Graphene, which can be micro adjusted for the perfect fit. The alternative strap options offered with other variants of the H08 look equally stylish. Future iterations would likely benefit from a quick-release mechanism, making the straps easily interchangeable, perfectly suiting any occasion.
Image – Picture by ©David Marchon
Closing thoughts
The watch world has a long-held fascination with new materials, whether they be luxurious or high tech. Graphene is clearly the most intriguing of all modern materials, being just 1 atom thick and about 200 times stronger than steel. Despite the material first being produced back in 2004, it has taken a long time to be adopted by the watch industry and even now it has only been adopted by brands with a spirit for adventure. With the H08 being targeted firmly at the modern gentlemen, using graphene is both logical and inspired.
With the advent of this new timepiece, Hermès has shown that there is true depth to its watchmaking expertise, using its association with Vaucher to deliver a well finished and credible movement. With the sports watch category being dominated by steel cases and bracelets, it is refreshing to see a wholly original approach being taken by Hermès with the H08. It looks certain the H08 will prove a longstanding and successful collection.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Hermès H08 Graphene
- Reference: W049433WW00
- Case: Graphene composite and ceramic case with sunburst satin-brushed ceramic bezel with mirror-polished chamfers; dimensions 39mm x 39mm; height 12mm; water resistance 10ATM (100 metres); sapphire crystal to front; exhibition caseback.
- Functions: Hours; minutes; centre seconds; date
- Movement: Hermès Manufacture H1837 movement; automatic movement; power reserve 50 hours.
- Strap: Black rubber paired with a butterfly clasp in titanium, 20 mm
- Price: £7,250 (RRP as at 26.4.2021)