In 1991, Henri Origny, creative director for Hermès, imagined a square watch with a rectangular look. By designing a square inside a rectangle, he had in fact invented an iconic watch – the Cape Cod. By composing such simple and efficient symmetry, Henri d’Origny had brought the world a singular vision: a timepiece that adapts to the time it’s in. Multiple interpretations would be yielded by this one design, including various men’s versions.
Presented through the lens of Hermès’ savoir-faire, the Faubourg Saint-Honoré manufacturer’s emblematic work with leather can be seen here around a dial and case that are all manufactured in-house. From the cutting to the finishing touches with the cousu-sellier stitch in between, these very same ancestral gestures are repeated in order to create this watch. This artisanal mastery consists of novel approaches: a strong bracelet, traditionally turned into a cuff style, is made in crocodile leather, Barénia veal leather, or two-tone smooth veal leather.
In the color department, Malta blue joins H red or oakum on the Cape Cod’s dial, with a blue indigo, matte graphite, or matte black crocodile leather bracelet added on. At the heart of these orchestrations is the manufacturer’s H1912 movement that rhythms the passing time to the tune of a mechanism created by Hermès. This technological jewel is getting reinvented for Baselworld as well. This year, the dials are lacquered – a singular stylistic choice that highlights subtle gradations of red and brown that give off delicate reflections. This elegance and originality can be discovered during Baselworld.
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