The Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé was among the most ambitious mechanical creations at Watches and Wonders Geneva this year, featuring a central triple-axis tourbillon and a tuning fork minute repeater. It follows in the footsteps of the 2019 Arceau L’heure de la lune, which reimagined the moon phase display, and the 2022 Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, which proposed a more elaborate way to indicate time in two zones simultaneously.
Originally invented in the early 19th century to reduce rate errors due to gravity on the accuracy of pocket watches, the tourbillon has become a holy grail for watch enthusiasts since the renaissance of mechanical watchmaking in the 1990s. Since then, we have seen a proliferation of tourbillon designs, including multiple tourbillon setups and single tourbillons operating on multiple axes.
The Arceau Duc Attelé belongs to the latter category, featuring a triple-axis tourbillon in the surround of a chapter ring and two peripheral hands. Its interlacing double H motif recalls the ironwork decorating the elevator at the maison’s first Paris boutique at 24 Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. Despite being composed of 99 components, the tourbillon setup weighs only 0.449 grams, thanks to the use of titanium. Its outer, intermediate and inner carriages complete one revolution in 300, 60, and 25 seconds, respectively, while the balance functions at a high frequency of 5 Hz. or 36,000 vph.
Adding to the technical mastery of this watch is the minute repeater that chimes the time sonorously when the slide on the side of the case is actuated. Its mirror-polished, horse-head hammers sit just below the power reserve indicator and strike on the u-shaped tuning fork tempered steel gongs that go around the edge of the dial. More equestrian references are to be found on the hand-winding H1926 movement, particularly the cut-out gears which resemble the spoked wheels of the Duc Attelé carriage as seen on the Hermès logo today.
We are quite sure that Henri d’Origny did not think of these horological complications when designing the Arceau case in 1978. Still, the emblematic round case with asymmetrical stirrup lugs has proven to be ideal for haute horlogerie applications, thanks to its scalable size and generous internal volume.
The Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé measures 43 mm but is quite wearable on a regular-sized wrist. Two versions of the watch will be produced, each limited to 24 units. The grade 5 titanium version features a lower dial with a striped guilloché motif and anthracite coating, paired with a matte anthracite leather strap. The rose gold version features a lower dial-in aventurine and is paired with a matte abyss blue leather strap.
Movement: Manual-winding calibre H1926; 48-hour power reserve
Case: 43mm in titanium and rose gold; water-resistant to 30m
Strap: Alligator (anthracite or blue)
Price: NA
This story was first seen on WOW’s Summer 2024 Issue.
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