Think about Hermès and suddenly your mind envisions magnificent French leather goods. Yet, this manufacture also has had a very important place in horology, collaborating with Jaeger-LeCoultre, and for decades retailing Universal Genève wristwatches in Paris. Hermès also started producing its own lines of watches in the late 1970s. The Arceau, Heure H, and Cape Cod that I saw during my childhood in France exhibited the elegance, and playful design, characteristic of the brand. To be frank, at that time they lacked serious cred for watch enthusiasts, as they relied on fairly standard quartz or automatic movements. Things started to change with the collaboration with the Manufacture Vaucher Fleurier 10 years ago, but the Slim might well be the turning point for Hermès watches, and I had the Slim for a Week On The Wrist to find out the answer.
In 2006, Hermès addressed its lack of in-house-movement manufacturing by taking a 25% ownership in the Manufacture Vaucher Fleurier, slowly transitioning out of the ETA era. The changes were incremental: first, some of the Cape Cod and the newly released Dressage models received exclusive calibers, then Hermès launched a poetic way to read and control the time with Le Temps Suspendu (Stopped Time), and the Dressage L'Heure Masquée (Hidden Hour) that Jack reviewed here. Granted, those last two watches were technically impressive, but they remained niche – given the nature of their complications, and their pricing.
It is in this context that Hermès unveiled the elegant Slim collection last year. One should congratulate Hermès for the boldness of the move, as this segment is not the most dynamic in modern watches – or vintage for that matter. Yet, this unconventional choice is in tune with Hermès' philosophy of offering the chic everyday products that it is convinced its clients need. And, true to the sense of Hermès' distinctive elegance – which Ben covered here, – the Slim proves to be a pretty unique and attractive dress watch.
As a Frenchman, I was therefore extremely impatient to handle the Slim, with high hopes and – let’s be honest – some fears of being disappointed. The first question was obvious: how thin exactly are we talking for the time-only Slim? I will let the specs do the talking here: while the movement is only 2.6 mm thick, the watch case itself reaches 9 mm. This is too thick to qualify as an ultra-thin watch but to me, but this height was actually an asset as it balances the overall proportions of the watch. Had the case been too flat, with a 39.5 mm diameter you would have faced the risk of it looking like a plate on the wrist. The first time I held the Slim, I was reassured. As surprising as it might sound, the lugs were the first revelation of this Hermès. Short and angled, not only do they give some style to the case, but they also make the watch wear extremely well, even for someone used to vintage proportions (most of the watches I wear standing between 33 mm and 36 mm). The shape of the lugs does matter – this was the first insight of this French test drive.
Immediately after the dial caught my eye, it was pretty hard not to notice the unusual numerals. The font was designed specifically for the Slim by a French graphic designer called Philippe Apeloig. While the name might not ring a bell to you, if you had lived in France you would likely have come across the many typographies that he created for museum exhibitions, as well as the horse jumping event Le Saut d'Hermès back in 2013. The vintage car enthusiasts among us might also remember his work for the exhibition of Ralph Lauren's outstanding collection in 2011.
Typography is the very essence of drawing: a balance between full and empty, light and shadow. Midway between science and art, it is a discipline that is both functional and poetic – a precise yet arbitrary subject. A balance has to be found between the freedom to create and the functional role of graphically designed objects.
Typorama, Philippe ApeloigHermès was obviously on-board with Philippe Apeloig's vision of typography, and gave him total freedom to shape the numerals in order to symbolize the passing of time. Again, those unconventional shapes are very much in line with Hermès' tradition of introducing a sprinkle of audacity in what could have otherwise been a very conformist design. This impulse was especially embodied by the former longstanding president and artistic director Jean-Louis Dumas, always sketching new ideas wherever her went. Beyond its look, the dial finish is absolutely wonderful, with a delicate metallic finish that I enjoy in vintage watches. Furthermore, the long and thin hands are supremely legible thanks to their sharp facets, one of the delights from Grand Seiko watches. Tone on tone can work if some parts constantly catch the light thanks to some smart polishing; this was the second insight that the Slim brought me.
Now it is time to turn the watch around and look at the movement through the sapphire case back. Here, the Slim scores big time: 2.6 mm high, the movement features a micro-rotor following the principle from the renowned Piaget 12P. The basic movement is not entirely exclusive to Hermès – you can for instance find it on the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950. That said, you would be hard-pressed to find any other watches among Vaucher's clients that belong to the price segment of the Slim while offering a movement of that level, with an integrated micro-rotor. This indicates that no expense was spared in the development of the Slim, front and back. One note of criticism that Jack had previously raised in his review of the Dressage: while I understand the intention to provide distinctive finishing, I feel the intertwined H went a notch too far. I would have rather enjoyed a more traditional finishing on the movement and a delicately engraved micro-rotor, with the same dexterity that I remember from the case back of the Cape Cod.
If you look at the watch from all angles, the attention to detail is really impressive – almost Germanic, shall I say. For instance, I could not find any fault with the well proportioned, signed crown or the emblematic 17 mm buckle – yes, as usual Hermès picked an unconventional width there, but I that's part of the quirky charm of the watch. And I could not conclude this review without praising the alligator strap. As you would expect from Hermès, the supple leather is fantastic. Let me actually go further than that, it is THE very best strap I've ever worn – but I was expecting nothing less from Hermès given their painstaking artisanal manufacturing process, which we described here. I am afraid that there is no going back to another "regular" leather strap after that, and this might be my third lesson from reviewing the Slim.
At the end of the week, I could only recognize that the Slim was truly a coup de maître from Hermès; being different suits very well a French manufacture, which provides a very compelling luxurious watch for $8,500. I almost wanted to transform this Week On The Wrist into A Value Proposition as I don't see any dress watch today that can rival the time-only Slim in a sub-$10,000 price range. It is not just a question of materials; the devotion to detail and level of sophistication in design, especially in the composition of the dial, are what elevate the Slim far above the level of most watches in its price range. Saying goodbye to the Slim was hard – I know I will miss it on my wrist, especially when sitting at the terrace of a Parisian cafe this spring.
The Slim d'Hermès in steel is available in all Hermès boutiques for $8,500, you can find a dedicated website diving into this model here. You could also find the other members of the Slim family, from the ladies' models to the Quantième Perpétuel that won the 2015 Grand Prix D'Horlogerie de Genève in the calendar category.
Update: since this review, Hermès announced two new dials for Baselworld – Midnight blue and Slate grey. Stay tuned, you should hear more about those novelties in a couple of weeks.
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