Past, Present, Perfect

From the new Watches & Wonders digital exhibition in April are Hermès Horloger’s latest novelties linking the past to the present, as introduced to Reena Hallberg by the manufacture’s Chief Executive Officer, Laurent dordet.

- Reena Hallberg

Earlier this year, in response to the unprecedented challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) cancelled their much-anticipated Watches & Wonders Geneva exhibition – formerly known as the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) – and moved the event to an entirely new digital platform. In late April, on the day the event was originally slated to open, FHH unveiled its breakthrough virtual fair, where watch enthusiasts, journalists and retailers could come together to discover the year’s most innovative novelties, while engaging with participating brands all in one place. And while nothing can replace the sensory experience that visiting a physical fair entails, watchmakers such as Hermès were able to create immersive online presentations designed to replicate the actual fair experience.

The French maison, renowned for its larger-than-life, artinstallation-like booths at previous SIHH fairs, used the digital platform to showcase its 2020 novelties that pushed the bounds of creativity. The house revisited its past to reveal three new offerings: the Slim d’Hermès, Cape Cod Martelée, and the Arceau L’Heure collections, which included three timepieces with meteorite dials – undoubtedly its halo for the year. Here, CEO of Hermès Horloger Laurent Dordet discusses the success of the new releases.

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