Exercising Poetic Licence

Though not borne of the horological world, Hermès has enriched it with its playful and poetic sensibilities. Guillaume de Seynes, president of the maison's watchmaking division, Hermès Horloger, charts its trajectory.

- Alvin Wong

IT ISN’T EASY being the new kid on the block in the watch business. Not even for a luxury house with a reputation as formidable as Hermès’s. While Hermès, too, is steeped in centuries-old history and esteemed in the fashion circles, it had to start from ground zero in the horological sphere.

Hermès presented its first watches in the 1920s and started its watchmaking division, La Montres Hermès (now known as Hermès Horloger), only in 1978—a fledgling by traditional watchmaking standards. However, in the early 2000s, the maison began investing earnestly to elevate its watch offerings. La Montres Hermès bought stakes in Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, a renowned manufacturing plant, and acquired dial- and case-making companies to bolster its production capabilities.

Two decades on, the efforts appear to be paying off. Hermès now boasts an impressive assortment of offerings. There are watches that appeal to aficionados, such as the recent award-winning Arceau Le Temps Voyageur with world time complication; watches that brim with artisanal verve, such as limited editions flaunting exquisite enamel and leather marquetry dials; and watches that are commercial successes, such as the new H08 range of casual and sporty timepieces.

Guillaume de Seynes, the president of Hermès Horloger, has been instrumental in bringing the watch division up to speed. Hailing from the sixth generation of the Hermès family (he is a cousin of Axel Dumas, CEO of the family-owned group), de Seynes joined La Montre Hermès in 1999 and was appointed the division’s president in 2005. He shares his thoughts on how far Hermès Horloger has come and what more it needs to do to further establish itself.