The HERMÈS Arceau L’heure de la lune is a dreamlike timepiece made for lovers of astronomy. The watch is unique as it offers a vision from Earth’s satellite that shows the simultaneous display of the moon phases of both the northern and southern hemispheres. The moon phases, the metal and the rock dial all come together to showcase an awe-inspiring display. A display that HERMÈS says is “free-spirited and impertinent vision of mechanical watchmaking”.
Originally designed by Henri d’Origny in 1978, the 43mm case for the Arceau L’heure de la lune comes in either white gold or platinum, each of which compliments the dark tones of the dials nicely. The dial comes in either a Martian or Black Sahara meteorite dial, which as mentioned before has two moons made from mother-of-pearl. The moons aren’t just made from mother-of-pearl either. The 12 o’clock moon is adorned by a Pegasus figure, which has been designed by “dream-designer” Dimitri Rybaltchenko.
The reason for this addition on the moon phase is that the horse is representative of the origins of HERMÈS. The Pegasus inscribed moon has been labelled Pleine Lune, which translates to “full moon”. While it showcases the roots of the brand, it’s addition is also supposed to portray the passage between two worlds, where magic and reality merge. The moon at 6 o’clock has been kept without any engravings, to depict a realistic representation of the actual surface.
If this wasn’t enough to get you admiring this piece, then the real showstopper is the two mobile counters displaying the time and date. Maintaining the horizontal distance between the two counters at all times, they almost perform a contemporary choreographed dance as they rotate around the dial, hiding and revealing the moon discs. This is all performed by a module which patent pending, has been exclusively developed for HERMÈS. As mentioned earlier, the mobile counters showcase the time (minute and hour hand) along with the date (single rotating hand). The font for the counters has been done in sloping Arabic numerals, to work as another aesthetic feature (if there wasn’t enough already!).
The main engine running all these components is HERMÈS’s H1837 movement. With a movement thickness of 3.7mm, the mechanical self-winding movement functions the hours, minutes, date and the rotation of the mobile counters.
Depending on the version, the HERMÈS Arceau L’heure de la lune comes in either a matt alligator strap in black, Havana or Veronese green. The HERMÈS Arceau L’heure de la lune is indeed a unique piece, letting the wearer be lost in the sense of time and space. The three variations of this watch are all limited edition models, which have varying limited numbers.
HERMÈS Arceau L’heure De La Lune Specification:
- Case diameter : 43mm
- Case material : White gold /Platinum
- Dial: Sahara meteorite, Lunar meteorite or Martian meteorite
- Crystal : Sapphire crystal and case-back with anti-glare treatment
- Water resistance : 3 atm/ 30 meters
- Movement : Hermès Manufacture H1837 movement
- Functions : Hours, minutes, date, double moon phase (display of moon phases seen from the northern and southern hemispheres
