Created in 2015, the Slim d’Hermès watch is all about essentials: a simplicity composed of thoroughness and balance. The distinctive, understated lines of its round case with angular lugs frame an enamelled white gold dial studded with the outline of a galloping horse.

Through a plethora of gold or enamel beads, the new Slim d’Hermès watch reveals its legendary horse, born from the skilled touch of enamellers and set with 52 baguette-cut diamonds.

This equestrian symbol is inspired by the eponymous scarf created in 2010 by artist Benoit Pierre Emery, featuring a celestial gallop in gold dots on silk. Transposed onto the dial, the studded horse takes on a new creative dimension.

To create the first model, the artisan uses a laser to carve tiny cavities in a gold surface that has been enamelled and polished by hand. One by one, he places 1,678 rose gold beads in the cavities, before firing them in the oven to set them in the enamel. This is a particularly delicate stage, as a few seconds too many or too few would compromise the successful outcome of this craftsmanship.

The second creation, made of blue enamel beads, follows the same process: a gold base coated with multiple layers of white enamel, successively dried and fired. The blue beads are formed from carefully selected and graded crystals of crushed enamel. These 1,678 enamel beads are then moistened and applied with a brush, before being secured in place by the firing process.

These exceptional dials are housed in a round white gold case measuring 39.5 mm in diameter and housing the ultra-thin Hermès H1950 self-winding movement. Crafted in the Hermès Horloger workshops, a strap in Chantilly-coloured matt alligator or sapphire-blue polished alligator highlights the nuances of each of these two watches.