Nul hasard à ce que la présentation de la dernière pièce d’Hermès se soit faite dans le navire-amiral de la marque, Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Son nom étonnant, Arceau Lift, dévoile l’origine de son inspiration esthétique: le “lift” historique du magasin est décoré de doubles “H” entrelacés, en l’honneur des familles Hermès et Hollande à l’origine de la dynastie.

ARCEAU LIFT BY HERMES

The architecture of the 43mm diameter Arceau case in rose gold, with its asymmetrical lugs, only serves to accentuate the apparent weightlessness of the flying tourbillon. The airy space beneath the sapphire crystal is dominated by the flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock and the barrel housing at 12 o’clock, both of which share the double-H decoration from the famous lift in the Hermès store in Paris. The other components of the manually-wound H1923 calibre developed exclusively for Hermès by La Joux-Perret are hidden behind a bridge running across the case from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock. The movement beats at a frequency of 3Hz and offers 90 hours of power reserve when fully wound. All surfaces are chamfered and polished by hand and have polished screws, while the underside of the tourbillon is visible through a sapphire crystal aperture at 6 o’clock on the reverse side of the case, which is surrounded by an engraved Hermès ex libris motif. The Arceau Lift is finished off by a matt Havana alligator leather strap produced in-house in the workshops of La Montre Hermès as a reminder of the brand’s strong tradition in the manufacture of leather goods.

Ce motif se retrouve dans le dessin même du tourbillon qui anime cette pièce d’exception. C’est un tourbillon volant, conçu pour Hermès par Lajoux-Perret. Selon Luc Perramond, CEO de la division horlogère d’Hermès, “cette montre ouvre sur une nouvelle dimension de notre horlogerie, qui mettra en valeur les complications traditionnelles…”.

Lire l’article complet dans Europa Star No 6/2013-14

Source: Europa Star Decembre - January 2013/14 Magazine Issue