STEPPING INTO THE Hermès salon at Watches and Wonders this year felt a bit like entering another world. The space immediately signalled that this was no ordinary Swiss watchmaking showcase. Where other manufactures boast split-second accuracy and ever-more complex movements, Hermès invites visitors to forget time altogether, if only for a moment.
“We decided to really occupy a territory of unconventional time,” explains Philippe Delhotal, creative director at Hermès Horloger, seated amid the brand’s latest creations. “There’s no other watchmaker who stops time. This territory of nonconventional time is a beautiful signature because it sums up the spirit, the state of mind of Hermès.”
This philosophy comes alive in the reimagined Arceau Le temps suspendu, a watch that quite literally allows wearers to ‘suspend’ time at will. First introduced in 2011, this poetic timepiece has been refined for 2025 with a slender 42mm case and an openworked dial that reveals the intricate mechanics behind its signature complication.
“When activated, the module flicks the hour and minute hands up towards the 12 o’clock position, while the date indicator at the bottom of the dial momentarily ‘disappears’ – making it appear as if the wearer has ‘stopped time’ or ‘stolen’ a precious moment for themselves,” Delhotal says, his pride unmistakable.
It’s a delightful mechanical sleight of hand. Press a pusher on the case side and the hands instantly fly to 12, pausing there as if time itself has frozen. Release the pusher whenever you’re ready to rejoin reality, and the hands return to the correct time – the movement having secretly kept track while you enjoyed your temporal escape.
“In a world increasingly focused on productivity and efficiency,” muses Delhotal, “we offer something completely different. We allow ourselves certain things. I mean, there’s no other watchmaker who stops time.”
Perhaps what truly sets Hermès apart from its peers at Watches and Wonders is the brand’s approach to watches as objects first, timekeepers second – a philosophy that permeates every aspect of their design process.
“The watch is an object in itself,” Delhotal emphasises. “It gives the time for sure, but it’s an object in itself. It’s designed in the same way as we design a lamp, a bag, a handbag.”
This philosophy explains the cohesive design language across Hermès’ 16 métiers. Each year, the company’s artistic director provides a unifying theme – for 2025, it’s ‘drawing’ – that guides all departments. “That’s a strength of Hermès,” says Delhotal. “It’s managed to give the métier creative directors this knowledge and understanding of creation. We all speak the same language.”
This thematic unity is evident in pieces like the Slim d’Hermès Cheval brossé, which features a horse motif derived from an Hermès scarf design. “When the designer designed it, he took big brushes. He drew the horse in a very spontaneous way,” Delhotal notes, reflecting the year’s drawing theme. However, translating that spontaneous brushwork to a watch dial required technical adaptation – multiple layers of enamel painting to capture the essence of the original gesture.
For 2025, Hermès has extended this poetic complication beyond the asymmetrical elegance of the Arceau. The brand introduced the Hermès Cut Le temps suspendu, bringing the time-freezing function to its contemporary collection, with the bold geometry and sharp lines that define the Cut aesthetic launched just last year.
“We give a lot of importance to technique, of course, even though it’s not the main element,” Delhotal insists. “We are not Patek or Vacheron – that’s not our world. We have something else to express in another way.”
That “something else” runs through the entire 2025 collection. The Arceau Petite Lune combines celestial elements with distinctive craftsmanship, while the L’Heure de la Lune collection continues to reimagine traditional moon phase complications with its satellite display system and the integration of genuine meteorites – sourced from a meteorite hunter who provided specimens from Mars and the Moon itself.
“When you talk of the Moon, you speak of the sky, what’s in space,” Delhotal says, his enthusiasm infectious. “We were lucky to have met with a meteorite hunter who brought us meteorites we could have never imagined putting in a watch.”
Colour plays a starring role in the collection, with deep blue tones dominating many of the new models. When asked about this palette choice, Delhotal responds confidently: “Colour is part of our DNA at Hermès. We work with colour specialists.”
This attention to colour and design represents the dual appeal of Hermès watches. “The collectors who come to buy our watches come for two reasons,” Delhotal explains. “One is the story of the design, the story behind it – and the colour.”
That design-forward approach extends even to their most technically complex pieces. “Our collectors are collectors of Patek, of all the big Swiss brands. Why do they come to Hermès? Not because we do minute repeaters – because you’re going to ring Patek in that case – but because our minute repeaters say something different.”
He gestures towards a minute repeater displayed at the salon entrance. “Cocoricooooo,” he says with a smile. “Only Hermès does a ‘Cocoricooooo’ with the minute repeater. There’s that offbeat thing. Side-step. Different. Fantasy. Whimsical. Humorous. That’s what really characterises Hermès.”
As our conversation winds down, Delhotal reflects on the uncertain times we live in with surprising optimism. “Especially in this world of uncertainty, let’s be happy to be here. The moment: it’s the biggest celebration of watchmaking in the world. We see our clients, journalists, the public, the suppliers – what more do you want?”
It’s a fitting sentiment from a brand whose watches invite us to pause, suspend time and appreciate the present moment – a luxury that, in today’s fast-paced world, may be the most valuable of all.
This story appears in the Winter 2025 issue of Esquire Australia, on sale now. Find out where to buy the issue here.
More from Esquire’s 2025 Watches Special:
