Hermès Update Arceau Collection with Meteorite Moonphase and Precious Metal Worldtimer

One of the things I love about horology is the vast array of styles and designs out there. Frankly it keeps the job interesting when one moment I’m writing about a technical tool watch designed to tackle the ocean depths and the next I’m writing about an artistic flight of fancy with immaculate finishing. And there are few watches as artistic and fanciful as Hermès’ Arceau range. Now the French maison is pushing the collection even further by introducing meteorite versions of the  Hermès Arceau L’heure de la lune and updated renditions of the Hermès Arceau Le temps voyageur.

Arceau L’heure de la lune

Starting with the Arceau L’heure de la lune Meteorite, there are three editions, each featuring slight variations across their cases and dials. The technical stats that are the same across all three are that they measure 43mm in diameter and house the H1837 movement with 40-hour power reserve and L’heure de la lune module. The module works by rotating the time display dial and date display dial around the face of the watch, slowly covering and revealing the static moons to show the phases of the moon in the Earth’s two hemispheres simultaneously.

The first of the limited editions is the Arceau L’heure de la lune Blue Grey. Its case is made from white gold with a titanium bezel that has a blue DLC coating for added scratch resistance and to create the titular blue grey colourway. The base of the display here features lunar meteorite, made of rock from the moon that has fallen to Earth as meteors. So yes, this is a moonphase made from an actual piece of the moon. It’s a fun contrast when you consider that the moons depicted on the dial are fictionalised designs created by Dimitri Rybaltchenko featuring the Hermès Pegasus.

Second up is Arceau L’heure de la lune Vesta. This version swaps the case to rose gold with a titanium bezel that now has a dark grey DLC coating. The meteorite that’s front and centre here comes from an asteroid called Vesta, which is technically large enough to be classified as a minor planet, a classification that includes a number of asteroids and dwarf planets. It has a dark brown colour due to the different material compositions that make up Vesta compared to the bright silver we typically associate with meteorite.

Last but by no means least is the Arceau L’heure de la lune Erg Chech, the most luxurious of the three with a white gold case and rose gold bezel. Its dial is made from a piece of the Erg Chech meteorite, named after the Saharan region it was found in. The Earth is estimated to be 4.543 billion years old and the Erg Chech meteorite is believed to be 4.566 billion years old, making it older than the planet itself. That’s pretty nuts. The three watches are exclusively available in 12 limited edition sets, each at £207,000.

Arceau Le temps voyageur

Back in 2022 Hermès introduced the Arceau Le temps voyageur as a brand new worldtimer complication with a platinum case. Now, they’re revisiting the design in two new editions in gold. They both house the H1837 movement using an adapted version of the L’heure de la lune module to rotate the time display around the dial at a rate of once per 24-hours instead of the multi-day dance of the moonphase variant. The position of the dial in relation to the peripheral world cities scale is how it displays the second time zone.

The Hermès Arceau Le temps voyageur Or blanc has a 41mm white gold case, which you might have been able to gather if you know your French. It has a grey lacquer dial below the rotating time display. Interestingly, the atlas shown on the display isn’t the Earth, instead showing a map from Jérôme Colliard’s Planisphère d’un monde équestre silk scarf. It’s the equivalent to the Pegasus in the moon from the lune models, a fictionalised version of our world blended with French passion and artistry. And horses. Lots of horses.

Turning the luxury setting up even higher is the Hermès Arceau Le temps voyageur Or rose et diaments, which French tells us is rose gold and diamond. Indeed the 38mm case is golden with that classic rosy hue and the bezel is set with 78 diamonds, making it the most feminine edition of the Le temps voyageur to date. That impression is furthered by the mother-of-pearl hour and minute dial as well as the opaline display beneath. Both versions are £36,980 despite the differences in size and materials.

More details at Hermès.

​Oracle Time 

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