Arceau Marqueterie de Paille
Case : white gold, sapphire caseback Diameter : 41 mm Movement : mechanical self-winding (55-hour power reserve), dedicated motif (sprinkling of “H” letters), gold oscillating weight Functions : hours, minutes Dial : straw marquetry Strap : matt indigo blue leather Water resistance : 30 m Edition : two models presented in a boxed set
In 2010, Hermès re-issued some of the most emblematic pieces of furniture deisgned by Jean-Michel Franck and thereby revived the art of straw marquetry. In 2012, this now rare form of expertise is applied to the watch dial. Calling for a complex miniaturisation technique, it uses hand-cut rye straw dyed in the mass and flat-dried, which naturally acquires a variety of colour shades. The artisan plays with the way the light plays across the strands and the directions in which they point in order to create extremely luminous decorative motifs. Hermès has chosen to use this technique to reproduce some of its most iconic tie designs: chevrons and small squares in blue or black. They enliven the dials of two white gold Arceau models, equipped with self-winding Calibre H1928, exclusively produced for Hermès by Manufacture Vaucher. The two creations are presented together in a Macassar ebony box, itself adorned with straw marquetry.
