Spotlight: Hermès H08 Collection

At Watches & Wonders 2021, Hermès announced the launch of a brand-new collection of a watch for everyday wear – the H08. This was one of my highlight releases from Watches & Wonders, and I was super excited to finally get my hands on some of the pieces and see them in person! In this article I get hands on with a few pieces from the collection and shine the Watch Affinity Spotlight on the Hermès H08.

Hermès H08

From the moment I saw the promotional photographs, this collection caught my eye. The H08, Hermes’ eighth collection (hence the name), offers something which is a step away from what you might expect to see from the brand, but also something that in my opinion stands apart aesthetically from other watches on the market owing to the well thought out design.

The design is the brainchild of a collaboration between three minds: Véronique Nichanian (artistic director of Hermès menswear), Pierre-Alexis Dumas (Hermès brand artistic director) and Philippe Delhotal (artistic director of Hermès Horloger).

So, what is it that makes the H08 stand out? For me, my eyes are immediately drawn to the numerals. The font used with the numerals on the dial is something that Hermès often do a great job of in my opinion – there is always something distinctive about them and I think a key part of the design language of the brand. The H08 collection is no different.

Whilst initially unapparent, the numerals used on the H08, most notably the 3, 6, 8 and 9 numerals, are actually inspired by the shape used in Hermès’ Chaine d’Ancre jewellery, a shape familiar to the brand, and perhaps indicative of the wide spectrum of input from the aforementioned artistic directors at Hermès coming together. The photo below shows a side-by-side example of this shape as used in a piece of jewellery and the H08 numerals.

This style is used throughout the collection, which itself comprises five unique references with different materials used for the case and strap options.

With respect to the cases, there is a full titanium version with brushed case and sunburst style bezel, a brushed titanium with DLC coating, and version with a graphene case and slightly darker numerals. Graphene is an ultra-light material derived from carbon that was first used in the Richard Mille RM 50-03, following a collaborative effort between Richard Mille, the University of Manchester and McLaren Applied Technologies (read more here).

The options for the strap include a titanium bracelet which is available on the titanium case option, various colours of rubber strap including black and orange, and finally also a fabric strap seen above in a deep blue.

Personally, I prefer the rubber strap over the titanium bracelet and fabric strap options. I found the titanium bracelet to be lightweight on the wrist, however relative to the depth of the case (10.6mm) I found it to be too thick for my liking, and not so comfortable. The fabric strap was more comfortable than the bracelet for sure, but I thought it felt a little out of kilter with more hardy, everyday vibe of the H08.

On the rubber strap, I thought the watch wore fantastically well. It was lightweight and comfortable, and I think the black rubber strap is perfectly in tune with both the overall aesthetic of the watch (especially the DLC or graphene cases as it completes the all-black look) as well as offering a longer term durability.

I have already mentioned that the Hermès H08 collection is intended as a watch for everyday wear, so let’s take a look at some of its features which make it such.

First off, the case. I’ve already talked about the base materials being either titanium (or titanium DLC) or graphene – these materials are renowned for being lightweight, strong and durable. Regardless of material, the case and bezel are brushed, with very little of the surface area polished. The result when you combine these points is a lightweight and comfortable watch, which is resistant to scratches from everyday knocks – and for those more significant knocks, any scratches are hopefully obfuscated somewhat by the brushed material as opposed to sticking out on a polished surface.

Each watch is water resistant to 100m, which means it should even be OK for a dip in the pool. There is further protection afforded by the screw down crown, although I did find this tricky to unscrew as the small size of the crown makes it quite difficult to grip.

Finally, on the dial, the numerals and hands are adorned with Super-LumiNova to ensure that the watch can be read in darker environments.

The dial itself, I think, looks brilliant. There is a monochromatic colourway across all references which is punctuated with a tiny and welcome splash of Hermès orange, which fills the arrowhead of the seconds hand. There is a subtle texture on the surface of the dial when you look close up, with a brushed ring with hour markers framing a track of minute markers just inside it. This texture is built upon with further relief and depth afforded by the applied numerals.

The date indication at the 4.30 position is a minor annoyance – I do generally appreciate the date complication on a watch when it’s done well, and I prefer it when a date window has the same backing colour as the dial to make it more discreet. I also particularly like that the date window on the Hermès H08 uses the same font used for the numerals on the dial.

However, these numerals in this font become more difficult to read when reduced in size to fit the date aperture, especially numbers 3, 6, 8 and 9. Furthermore, I am not sure why the date aperture straddles the edge of the brushed ring with the hour markers and the outer dial. To my eye, it looks a little bizarre, and I think for this watch it might be better without a date complication or if the edges of the aperture were neatly confined within the hour marker ring.

Finally, inside the case we have the Hermès Manufacture Caliber H1837. This is an automatic movement with approximately 50 hours power reserve when fully wound, thanks to a double barrel. This is visible through the sapphire caseback and is finished with a motif of ‘H’ on the rotor and plates. The movement itself is 26.2mm in diameter and just 3.7mm thick.

The movement is of high quality, supplied to Hermès by Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier. VMF is a provider of private label, high-end ébauche movements to the likes of Hermès alongside the likes of Parmigiani Fleurier and others, with each movement 100% Swiss Made. In fact, VMF are 25% owned by Hermès, too.

In Summary

As I mentioned earlier, as soon as I saw the Hermès H08 collection at Watches & Wonders, I was excited to see it in person. Overall, it didn’t disappoint – the DLC coated and graphene references with a black rubber strap are both references which I would very much wear, and I think would make for a perfect “summer watch” or an everyday wear for active individuals.

Personally, I really like the style of font used on the numerals, and appreciate it more so having an understanding where the design inspiration has come from, as I think this is a nice way to tie the wider Hermès brand into the H08 collection. Whilst I wasn’t a fan of the bracelet on my wrist or the position of date window, the bracelet bugbear is easy to avoid by just pairing the watch with a rubber strap, and the date window doesn’t stand out so much owing to the colour being the same as the dial.

All things considered, I think this is a great looking, comfortable and practical watch and something I think I would really enjoy wearing.

Pricewise, at release the titanium case with bracelet (reference W049427WW00) is priced £4,890; the DLC coated titanium on rubber strap (reference W049428WW00) is priced £4,620; and the graphene on rubber strap (reference W049433WW00) is priced £7,250 – reflecting the advanced case material.

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