Watches and Wonders
Time Suspended: Whimsical Hermès Novelties Live From Watches and Wonders 2025
It feels like déjà vu, but the execution of the Arceau Le Temps Suspendu is on a whole new level. Plus, the Cut embraces this complication in truly spectacular fashion.
By Henri Lee
Contributor
Last year, I enthusiastically highlighted the Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé Minute Repeater and Tourbillon as one of the top 5 releases from Watches and Wonders 2024. So, what has the famed Maison, steeped in luxury, vertically integrated, and ranked 13th in the 2024 Swiss watch industry, brought to Watches and Wonders 2025?
The answer: stunning, exquisite timepieces crafted in that unmistakable Hermès way – stylish and whimsical, yet technically remarkable.
Arceau Le Temps Suspendu
In 2011, the top prize in the GPHG Men’s Watch category went to Arceau Le Temps Suspendu (“time suspended”) by Hermès. This was due, in large part, to this model’s introduction of a charming and unprecedented complication – one that allows the wearer to pause time, momentarily stepping outside of it.
This week, a fresh reinterpretation of that 2011 masterpiece was unveiled, bringing a new aesthetic to the beloved design. The overall look and feel of the dial remain familiar, with elegant hands, stylish hour markers, and the retrograde date display still anchored at 5 o’clock. The signature asymmetrical lugs are just as intriguing and refreshing today.
However, when you look closer, you’ll notice an openworked central dial that reveals the exclusive “time suspended” module, with polished bridges, visible gears, screws, and jewels offering a glimpse of the mechanics beneath the surface. The in-house Hermès H1837 movement, visible through a transparent caseback, powers the mesmerizing display.
With a push of the button at 9 o’clock, the hour and minute hands jump to an “impossible” position near 12, while the date hand disappears entirely. Time, suspended; a quiet signal to disconnect or simply drift. Press the button again, and the hands return to the present moment, pointing to the correct time and date. Reality resumes.
Available in white or rose gold cases, the watch comes in three dial colors: sunburst blue, brun désert (desert brown), and rouge sellier (saddle red).
Cut Le Temps Suspendu
Unveiled just last year, the Cut is a new collection that has thus far only offered 36mm case sizes. Like the larger H08 sports collection, the Cut is a sporty, unveiled line designed to suit different wrist sizes.
The Cut is now getting the Time Suspended complication, too. But that’s not all because the Cut Le Temps Suspendu comes in a larger 39mm case. As it is on the Arceau Le Temps Suspendu, this unique complication is visible on the dial, where a slice frames the 12 o’clock position. When time is suspended, that’s the “parking spot” for the hour and minute hands.
Instead of a central seconds hand, as seen in earlier Cut models, a small seconds sub-dial sits at 4 o’clock on these latest pieces. Moreover, when the time is suspended on the Cut Le Temps Suspendu, the second hand runs backward – for 24 seconds. It’s a clever, whimsical touch to remind you that time no longer matters.
The new Cut Le Temps Suspendu comes in three 39mm rose gold models. Two have silver-toned dials. The third features a bold red dial, offered as a “one-shot” release (meaning it’s a limited production model).
Arceau L’heure de la lune 3-Piece Set
Introduced in 2019, the Arceau L'heure de la lune, “The Hour of the Moon,” reimagines the moonphase complication. Instead of a traditional moving moon disc, it features two large fixed moons at 12 and 6 o’clock, representing the southern and northern hemispheres. Two sub-dials, showing time and date, orbit the dial and partially eclipse the moons to display the lunar phase.
Well, at Watches and Wonders 2025, Hermès announced 12 limited sets, each containing three Arceau L’heure de la lune pieces, making this a true collector’s treasure.
What makes these sets even more attractive is that a meteorite dial is at the heart of each watch, which is complemented nicely by a striking two-tone aesthetic created from two distinct metals.
Arceau Le Temps Voyageur
Winner of two GPHG awards in 2022, the ingenious Arceau Le Temps Voyageur world time watch showcases local time through a traveling sub-dial that moves across the dial’s map.
Now, two new models join the collection, featuring updated dial designs and fresh case materials. More specifically, the new Arceau Le Temps Voyageur models have a newly rendered globe motif that adds striking visual depth to the continents.
One model comes in white gold with a blue dial. The other, in rose gold, features a silver dial adorned with diamonds. For more details, visit the Hermès website.