Hermès introduces the Arceau Cheval Natté, a watch that brings silk into the dial through a detailed equestrian motif composed from hundreds of individual threads. The design combines geometric pattern, color and hand-applied textile work within the familiar Arceau format first created by Henri d’Origny in 1978.
WATCHES
The Arceau has long provided Hermès with a platform for artistic watchmaking and equestrian references. Its design language remains closely tied to the House’s visual codes, while successive interpretations allow different techniques and materials to enter the collection. For the Cheval Natté edition, Hermès turns to a motif by designer Tong Ren, originally developed for home accessories.
The motif centers on a horse’s head built from geometric lines. On the watch dial, Hermès reconstructs the image through silk, transforming the original graphic into a miniature textile composition. Nearly 400 silk threads create the design, with each thread positioned individually in a carefully determined direction.
This method gives the horse’s head a sense of movement while introducing depth across the surface. The silk changes appearance as light moves across the dial, revealing differences in texture and color. Hermès uses the material as part of the watch’s construction rather than treating it as a simple decorative layer.
The geometric arrangement gives the horse a graphic presence while keeping the equestrian reference immediately recognizable. The controlled placement of the threads also creates a raised effect, allowing the composition to shift visually depending on the angle from which it is viewed.
Hermès offers the Arceau Cheval Natté in two versions. One interpretation takes its colors from the vivid palette of Tong Ren’s original design. The second uses deeper shades of black, red and brown for a darker result.
Diamonds appear across both versions and interact with the silk composition on the dial. Hermès further defines the surface through champlevé engraving, adding another level of precision around the woven motif.
A 38 mm rose gold case surrounds each dial and features diamond setting around its exterior. Inside, Hermès uses its H1912 self-winding Manufacture movement. The movement’s finishing and its repeated “sprinkling of Hs” pattern remain visible through the sapphire crystal case-back, giving the reverse of the watch its own decorative focus.
Hermès completes each version with an alligator strap produced in the House’s workshops. The strap connects the watch to the material expertise that runs across Hermès accessories and gives the piece a restrained finish beside the richly worked dial.
Each color version of the Arceau Cheval Natté will be produced in a limited series of 24 pieces, placing the watch within Hermès’ small-scale artistic watchmaking output.
The project continues Hermès’ broader approach to timepieces as objects shaped through specialist techniques and close attention to material. The House treats watchmaking as a space for experimentation, using the Arceau Cheval Natté to bring textile methods into mechanical watch design.
