The Hermès Carré H Makes You Want to Touch It
Parisian luxury house Hermès wants you to know it can do both. While it has presented time in a poetic or emotional manner with concepts such as the Le Temps Suspendu, which has the ability to freeze a perfect moment, or the Dressage L’Heure Masquée, which allows wearers to forget the passing of the hours, it also frames time in a more straightforward manner: as a well-made object.
In 2010, with the goal of creating a modern watch with instant legibility, it introduced a new proposition, a square-shaped titanium timepiece designed by architect Marc Berthier. The Carré H was a modernist dream with bar-style hour markers that, yes, could be read at a glance. It was just what you needed if what you needed was a watch that told time exquisitely.
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This year, Berthier refreshes the minimal design of the Carré H, and what is most apparent is its playful appeal.
The new Carré H features a slightly larger case at 38mm (from 36.5mm) and a more engaging face with a circular center populated by double-digit numerals (as in with zeros and, of note, in an exclusive font) and a strikingly colored second hand in yellow or red.
Hermès also emphasizes how light interacts with the watch. Polished and micro-bead blasted finishes on the faceted numerals and hands and the right-angled guilloché pattern, as well as the appearance of depth as created by different layers in variances of black and dark gray make the watch feel tactile—as if each element can be picked off by your fingers. (Don't do this, of course!)
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More good news: Dressed in the leather expert's brown or black Barenia straps, the Carré H now comes in stainless steel, which just makes it more attainable than the previous ultra-rare limited edition.
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