Shaping UP

Hermès is releasing its first sports timepieces for women. equipped with in-house movements. Philippe Delhotal, creative director of the house's watches division, shares his inspirations.

- GORDON NG

Hermès has an extensive collection of watches for women. There are at least seven instantly recognisable collections, such as Cape Cod, Heure H and Arceau. These are beautiful accessories, but the brand has had something of a glaring omission: sporty timepieces for women.

That’s set to change with the introduction of Hermès Cut, a new line of watches that comes with a breezy sense of fun, ease, simplicity—and the prized horological distinction of an in-house manufacture movement. The house’s major releases over the last decade have leaned towards masculine offerings powered by its own movements, a calculated move that has established Hermès as a fast-rising player in the fine watches space.

“It’s a first for Hermès Horloger that we are introducing a brand new line, fully equipped with a manufacture movement and fully produced in our workshops for ladies,” shares Delhotal over a video call. “The most important thing was to create a meaning for this watch because it makes no sense to introduce a collection and that’s it.”

The origins of Hermès Cut are nuanced. Delhotal reveals that work began three years ago to create the house’s first sports watch for women. A cursory glance at Hermès’s history of design— of watches, in particular—reveals that the house revels in distinct, unusual aesthetics.