The time traveler’s watch
BrandedUp in partnership with
If the time traveler in the film The Time Traveler’s Wife wore a watch, it would definitely be Hermès’ Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, which allows you to travel through 24 time zones simultaneously. A tuk tuk ride in Bangkok… an aurora borealis in Juneau… the Parthenon in Athens… all exist on the same plane in the Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur.
The original Arceau watch was designed by Henri d’Origny in 1978, which expressed style and evoked the spirit of travel according to Hermès. Crafted in platinum, titanium and steel, its round case with asymmetrical lugs revealed Hermès’ singular reinterpretation of classic Haute Horlogerie (high-quality watchmaking). Its complications roamed across the hours of the world, as the “Traveling Time” mechanism developed exclusively for Hermès provides a disc-type display of 24 time zones. The watch’s “satellite” gravitates on a fantasy map imagined by Jérôme Colliard for the “Planisphère d’un monde équestre (Planisphere of an Equestrian World)” silk scarf.
The mobile counter and the home time indication at 12 o’clock are driven by a 122-component module measuring just 4.4 mm thick, which is integrated within the Hermès H1837 mechanical self-winding movement. The mechanism powers the hours, minutes and dual-time display with city indication — all on a thin, lightweight watch.
Two Arceau Le Temps Voyageur models — a 41mm-diameter platinum version with a matte black DLC-treated titanium bezel, and a 38mm steel iteration — are fitted with alligator or Swift calfskin straps made in Hermès Horloger’s own workshops using the House’s long-established saddle-making and leather craftsmanship expertise.
Representing a metaphor of the ties between horses and the House of Hermès, this design was inspired by a giant globe created by the French graphic designer for the 2016 Saut Hermès showjumping competition in Paris. This map of an imaginary world, inspired by antiquity, features whimsical drawings and names evoking riders’ love for their mounts, seemingly drawn from the archives of a geographer of invisible lands.
The continents and oceans of this dreamlike universe stand out in relief and depth, adorned with subtle finishes: lacquered, sandblasted, sunburst, transferred, or even powdered silver. From city to city, the watch enables observers to discover the world, to lose their bearings, to embrace all the hours of the planet at a glance.
* * *
Hermès’ flagship store in the Philippines is located at Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati City, tel. 7757-8910, open Monday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
* * *
Editor’s Note: BrandedUp is designed to provide you with insightful, inspiring and educational content created by PhilSTAR L!fe in collaboration with brands like Hermes.