Why Did Hermès Want Every Single One of These Watches to Be Unique?

By Sebastian Jean, as told to Jake Silbert.

For Philippe Delhotal, creative director of Hermès Horloger, inspiration is rarely found in the office on a Monday morning. So, for the launch of the latest iterations of the brand’s H08 sports watch, the travel-inspired timepiece that debuted in 2021, we flew to Miami for a 24-hour masterclass in horological ingenuity.

After spending some time with Delhotal and Laurent Dordet, CEO of Hermès Horloger, you begin to understand that serious watchmaking still has room for fun. These two men at the helm of the Hermès métier are deeply respectful of the brand’s heritage but are equally keen to make things interesting, of which the subtly unique H08 is tangible proof.

As Dordet puts it, the mantra for Hermès’ watch metier is “be as good as your competitors in terms of technique, but be as different from them as possible in everything else.” In otherwords Hermès specializes in personality-driven creations that don’t just keep good time, they can stop time too. That is, watches like the H08 encourage the wearer (and those who peep their wrist) to pause and be present with their piece. 

In Miami, we strolled the Rubell Museum and joined artist José Parlá in a demonstration on painting and collage. What did any of this have to do with watches? With a canvas in front of us, we were being asked to follow our instincts, experiment, and see where it led.

It was a way into the creative mindset described by Delhotal, where inspiration comes through real life: travel, happenstance, the beauty of craft. 

Hermès did bring us here to talk about watches, but this was really a hands-on showcase in how a heritage brand approaches growth and innovation in a sector often accused (not wrongly) of stagnation. This attitude becomes physical in the latest iteration of the H08, which wears a tasteful fiberglass case that's subtly distinct — each watch is consistently beautiful but also unique. Another reason to press pause, another reason to look closer.

At a panel with Sotheby’s Geoff Hess, Dordet said that Hermès' journey to legitimacy in the watch space has always been about time and consistency. His account of the H08's initial reception made this challenge even more personal. Some friends, he recalled, said they would never buy the H08 because it didn’t feel like Hermès — others, meanwhile, said it was the first Hermès watch they wanted to own.

And therein lies the conundrum; not everyone will like a particular design. Those opposing reactions get to the question at the heart of the new watch: how far can you push an identity without straying from it? The H08 offers Hermès an ongoing opportunity to work that out. As Dordet put it, “Don’t milk it, protect it.”