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Slim d’Hermès, the art of subtle design

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July 2017


The French luxury house broadens its popular ladies’ series with two new models that espouse the principles of simplicity and purity in watchmaking.

Slim d'Hermès, the art of subtle design

The objective of the Slim d’Hermès timepiece has always been to cultivate a sense of subtle paradox, while at the same time producing a simple and pure timekeeper. Here we have two new additions to the series, each available in different case sizes, that subscribe to the above principles without fail.

The first thing once notices is the the slender silhouette, which is offset superbly by the broad dial opening. As a result of this conscious design choice, the eyes immediately fixate on the dial to soak up the other, more subtle details.

Slim d'Hermès, the art of subtle design

Take a look at the numerals, for example, and you might notice the unique font used for the hours. If you haven’t seen this particular styling before, well that’s because the font was created by a graphic designer with a specific purpose in mind. The finely traced lines are interspersed with empty space, which symbolizes the passage of time through the watch.

Slim d'Hermès, the art of subtle design

The philosophy of Hermès has never been about capturing time, which has been the basis of timekeeping since it began. Rather than controlling time, the goal is to arouse emotions in the wearer, and to open new spaces for spontaneity in watch design. That is certainly the message with the Slim collection, albeit executed in a very subtle way.

Slim d'Hermès, the art of subtle design

Two new dial variations of the timepiece featuring opaque black lacquer or translucent magnolia white faces. Both models are available in either a small (32mm or 33mm) or very small (25mm) case, each paired with fine alligator straps.

Despite the obvious size difference, there is also a difference in the weight of the diamonds wrapped around each stainless steel case. With the black lacquer model, for example, in the larger option we have 60 diamonds with 0.47 carats while the smaller model has the same number diamonds but with 0.29 carats.

Slim d'Hermès, the art of subtle design

Despite the differences in dial colour, both models also have those unique transferred Arabic numerals, pearl-shaped hour-markers, a snailed centre with sunburst chapter ring, and rhodium-plated baton-type hands.

Historically the Slim collection has been among the brand’s most understated models, and as a result they can wear the test of time quite well. These two new models don’t indicate that anything will change in that regard.