A Colorful Trip To Paradise With The New Hermès Arceau

If there is one thing Hermès never seem to have a shortage of, it is creativity. Especially with their legendary Arceau watch, designed in 1978 by Henri d’Origny, they continue to dazzle with the most imaginative creations in Technicolor. This is also the case with the latest edition, the Arceau Toucan de Paradis. This exotic bird is known primarily because of its sizeable and colorful beak. In 2020 the young British artist Katie Scott reimagined this unique animal for a silk Hermès scarf. In her signature style, she combined realism with bold colors. The result was not only imaginative but also very captivating, and it maintained the same effect on the dial of the Arceau.

Photo Credit: David Marchon

Hermès is not a brand that takes shortcuts in creating anything. The same is the case with the Arceau Toucan de Paradis. While they could have gotten away with printing the image on the dial, they didn’t. Instead, they combined two challenging crafts into a single creation. The background is hand-painted enamel. Several layers were applied with the utmost care and precision, with kiln firings in between to get the perfect result. This sets the stage for the animal itself, which is composed out of individual silk threads. This technique is exclusive to Hermès, which was developed based on Japan’s refined kimono weaving techniques and took five years to perfect. Each of the silk threads must have the perfect color and be placed just right so that an even surface is created that looks like it is woven. This very demanding task takes a full week to complete.

Photo Credit: Claude Joray

The Amazonian bird is captured in a 38 mm large Arceau case made from white gold. The bezel is set with 82 brilliant-cut diamonds to make the watch even more dazzling. Inside, we find Hermès manufacture caliber H1912, which can be admired through the sapphire caseback. This automatic movement has a power reserve of 50-hours. It forms the perfect beating heart for a watch dedicated to one of the most captivating tropical birds. Hermès will make 24 pieces of the Arceau Toucan de Paradis, available through their boutiques.