11.09.2021
Ask anyone in the trade about the finesse required to create an enamelled dial and they will have you know it is an art form that those with a lack of patience would not term as a stress relieving activity. For its latest outing, Hermès isn’t just relying on enamelling to tell a story on a self-winding wristwatch With the Arceau Toucan de Paradis, which is based on a silk scarf illustration from 2020, Hermès is levelling up by adding another artistic craft as an add-on to the enamelling and watchmaking aspects. It has created a textured dial using hand-placed silk threads to create the colourful toucan motif, a technique inspired by a similar course of action observed in a kimono weaving workshop in Japan. Roughly 500 threads are carefully assembled on an already-enamelled white gold base, of which this process takes up to a week to complete. Oh, and if you think that’s about it, the 38mm wristwatch also features a bezel set with 38 diamonds. How’s that for finesse? Limited to 24 pieces.
