While spending a week at the SIHH and Baselworld each year is no hardship, my days during the big fairs are largely spent peering into a lightbox with a seemingly never-ending stream of sensational watches I don’t as much look at as check they are in focus, click, and repeat. I’m usually focusing on focusing on watches rather than appreciating them; I have the rest of the year for that.

When I’m shooting watches, it takes a lot to jolt me out of the mindset. And that kind of thing wouldn’t happen more than once in the week, if at all.

Slim d’Hermès Titane (photos courtesy Hermès/Joel van Allmen)

At the 2019 SIHH in January, I was jolted at a private Hermès presentation by a watch so new that it would not be launched for a couple of months yet: the Slim d’Hermès Titane. Two things surprised me about the Slim d’Hermès Titane:

1. How much I liked it, and “liked” as in “I want to buy one!”

2. Hermès? My bent is towards the independents, when did I start considering Hermès?

Pad printing a dial of the Slim d’Hermès Titane (photos courtesy Hermès/Lucas Vuitel)

I’m here for a font?

Early in 2015, I attended a small press presentation by Hermès in Geneva, where Philippe Delhotal, creative director of the Hermès watchmaking division, presented the then-new Slim d’Hermès collection. And it was there that I met one of the defining features of the collection: the Slim d’Hermès dial font, which had been commissioned by Hermès from French graphic designer/typographer Philippe Apeloig.

My first mental reaction was “dial font? I’m now spending my time being taught how important fonts are?”

The answer was yes, and I learnt something. And I got it!

Slim d’Hermès Titane: this view is what jolted me out of the snap, click, repeat daze

I thought that the Slim d’Hermès collection offered an excellent range of extremely versatile casual-dress watches with high quality manufacture movements and competitive pricing. And I thought that the font made an extremely significant contribution to both the attractiveness and the distinctiveness of the Slim d’Hermès design.

I liked the Slim d’Hermès, but never considered buying one for my own wrist.

Slim d’Hermès Titane on the wrist

But then at the 2019 SIHH in January, Cupid’s arrow struck.

Slim d’Hermès Titane (photo courtesy Hermès/Calitho)

Here’s what I like about the Slim d’Hermès Titane

• The dial: the font looks “cut out,” and the cut-out chapter disk accentuates the impact of the font.
• The case: micro-blasted titanium contrasting with a circular brushed titanium bezel.
• The movement: hand-beveled bridges with an attractive pattern covering the movement plates composed of miniature Hs.
• The strap: if there is a strap manufacture making better handcrafted straps than Hermès I’m yet to find it.
• The 39.5 mm slim case: I’ve got small wrists, and the case size is perfect for me.
• The titanium case: light, comfortable, and doesn’t attract attention.
• The design: bespoke font on anthracite dial lit up with Hermès orange.
• The movement: nicely finished ultra-thin manufacture Hermès movement by Vaucher (Hermès is co-owner of Vaucher).

Slim d’Hermès Titane

Myriad tiny details make great design look simple

We often see things that we think look good but we have no idea why that is so. While I still don’t have an answer to that question, I do know that great design is rarely down to chance.

Three-piece dial of the Slim d’Hermès Titane (photo courtesy Hermès/Lucas Vuitel)

And the Slim d’Hermès Titane highlights just how much attention to micro-detail goes in to making a seemingly simple design into a great design. These details include:

• The case: micro-blasted titanium contrasting with a circular brushed titanium bezel.
• The dial: the font looks “cut out,” and the cut-out chapter disk accentuates the impact of the font.
• The movement: hand-beveled bridges with an attractive pattern covering the movement plates composed of miniature Hs.
• The strap: if there is a strap manufacture making better handcrafted straps than Hermès I’m yet to find it.

View through the display back to the miniature H-patterned, micro-rotor manufacture movement of the Slim d’Hermès Titane

Slim d’Hermès Titane: conclusion

I still want one!

Slim d’Hermès Titane on the wrist

For more information, please visit www.hermes.com/us/en/watches/.

Quick Facts Slim d’Hermès Titane
Case: 39.5 x 9.06 mm diameter, grade 2 micro-blasted titanium
Dial: three-part anthracite dial, chapter ring with open-worked Arabic numerals, snailed dial center with white and orange tones under the chapter ring, grained crystal small-seconds counter, rhodium-plated hour and minute hands, orange second hand
Movement: automatic ultra-thin Hermès manufacture Caliber H1950, micro rotor, 30 mm x 2.6 mm, power reserve 42 hours, 3 Hz/21,600 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds
Buckle and strap: grade 2 titanium pin buckle, hand-stitched alligator strap in matt graphite with orange burnishing
Price: CHF 7,100/€5,900/$8,050 (excluding sales tax)

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