Hermès Arceau Chorus Stellarum

Featuring mobile appliques, engraving and miniature painting, the Arceau watch comes to life in a whimsical and mischievous equestrian universe.

Despite its classical appearance, the Arceau watch designed by Henri d’Origny loves playing the transformation game. Its round case topped by asymmetrical stirrup-shaped lugs welcomes a wealth of remarkable and demanding artistic crafts. Embellished by engraving and miniature painting, its timeless yet singular aesthetic becomes an object of Hermès creativity and expertise.

Two exclusive interpretations reveal a decorative world that is at times fantasy-tinged and at others futuristic, inspired by the Chorus Stellarum silk scarf designed by Daiske Nomura. The characters – dashing skeleton riders astride their noble steeds – are embodied in mobile yellow gold appliques, engraved and painted by hand. Driven by a spring mechanism linked to the 9 o’clock pusher, these gothic vanities swing into action at the flick of a thumb in a smooth“on-demand impulse” animation that sees them prance around a gilded constellation created using the champlevé technique. Like a celestial painting, this new zodiac featuring symbols subtly borrowed from the Émile Hermès collection reveals the equestrian skies in a dazzling canvas of colourful lacquer-coated motifs, enhanced by applied rhodium-plated stars.