For Hermès, watchmaking has long been a vital asset in telling the story of the legendary French brand’s craftsmanship—but that doesn’t mean the watches are hardbound to look classic. If anything, it’s the opposite.
When it first appeared in 2021, the H08 watch was the storied maison’s most modern watch ever, and it fast become the backbone of the watchmaking collection. Made from lightweight blackened titanium, with rubber deployant straps, but with distinctly Art Deco-inspired Arabic numerals, it was a deft mash up of old and new in a watch and conceived to define the 21st century sports watch.
At Watches & Wonders, Hermès presented the distinctive cushion shape for the first time in a skeletonized style—dubbed the H08 Squelette—with an openwork dial displaying the in-house H1978S automatic movement. The 39mm watch comes in two colours, one with blue Zanzibar numerals (pictured) and a matching rubber strap (with black as an alternative) and another in grey throughout with straps in sand, blue, and green.
Skeletons are clearly a thing for Hermès this year, with the house offering two takes on another modern classic from the Hermès collection, the Slim D’Hermès, which launched in 2015. The movement on the new 39.5mm Slim D’Hermès Squelette Lune is, as the name suggests, a mere 3.57mm thick; the Lune refers to the double moon phase display.
Both versions are automatics, powered by gold micro rotors and featuring the H1953 in-house movement clearly visible through the alternately bead-blasted and polished bridges of the movement. One is in grey Grade 5 Titanium with a matte alligator strap, the other in platinum with a blue movement and calf strap.