Hermes Arceau Moonphase Retrograde Watch Recalls The Quintessential Gentleman’s Accessory

Pocket watches aren’t seen too terribly often these days.  However, Hermes is one luxury brand this has brought the quintessential gentleman’s accessory back into the light.  The new Hermes Arceau Moonphase Retrograde is a truly beautiful 18K yellow gold pocket watch with a distinctively elegant design.

The Hermes Arceau Moonphase Retrograde pocket watch is notable for its two charming complications (moon phase and retrograde date) which are powered not by a quartz movement—but by an exclusive automatic caliber from the high-end movement specialist Vaucher, in Fleurier.  Naturally, Hermes equipped this highly exclusive pocket watch with a sapphire crystal exhibition caseback so the fine finishing of this Vaucher movement can be admired–rather than the expected “Cotes de Geneve” or circular graining patterns, the bridges and gold central rotor both display the interlocking H’s of the Hermes brand.  While not traditional, this finishing is very stylish and well-matched to the image of Hermes.   The dial is truly lovely, with its central guilloche pattern, eccentrically-placed moon phase disc, blued central seconds hand, and fine Breguet-style Arabic numerals.  

Would a manual-winding movement have been more appropriate in the Hermes Arceau Moonphase Retrograde?  Perhaps.  I say this considering that this timepiece will not be anchored to a (constantly moving) wrist, but instead hang placidly from its fine leather fob.  After all, self-winding mechanisms made their first debut in the 18th century thanks to great watchmaker-inventors like Perrelet and Breguet.  However, these “perpetuelle” movements didn’t get off the ground until the 20th century–when watches went en masse from the coat pocket, to the wrist.   A specifically designed watch-winder to accommodate the Arceau watch would be a nice addition–and perhaps Hermes will oblige.  

As you might expect, Hermes won’t be making many of these pretty 43.5mm pocket watches.  Just twenty-four examples of the Arceau Moonphase Retrograde watch will be produced, each bearing an engraved individual number as a subtle reminder of exclusivity.