Recent releases, including the ridiculously buzzworthy collaboration between Audemars Piguet and Swatch on the Royal Pop, suggest collectors are once again embracing objects that celebrate timekeeping as theatre, ritual and artistic expression rather than mere utility.
Yet long before the latest resurgence, Hermès had already been quietly reimagining the pocket watch for a contemporary audience. Through a series of métiers d’art creations, the Maison has transformed the format into a canvas for storytelling, craftsmanship and whimsy. The latest chapter in that evolution arrived at Watches and Wonders in the form of the Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar!, a remarkable object that combines wood marquetry, mechanical sophistication and the irreverent creativity that defines Hermès Horloger.
At the heart of the piece is Roaaaaar!, the exuberant lion illustration by British artist Alice Shirley, whose fantastical animal worlds have become closely associated with Hermès silk creations. According to Philippe Delhotal, creative director of Hermès Horloger, the project began not with mechanics, but with the image itself.
“It all started with the choice of the drawing by Alice Shirley,” he explains. “The story of the roaring lion fits perfectly with the theme of Mysterious Mechanisms [the theme chosen by Hermès for its 2026 launches]. The Roaaaaar! design lent itself particularly well to wood marquetry thanks to its volumes and contrasts, as well as to the openworked cover enabling a subtle interplay of light and depth.”
The result is layers of imagery unfolding across the watch’s cover like scenery. The lion emerges dramatically through a multi-storey composition, painstakingly pieced together with natural wood pieces, that feels almost alive – as the dial in vert cyprès or bleu saphir Grand Feu enamel peeks out from underneath.
Alice Shirley’s artwork has become fertile ground for Hermès’s watchmaking imagination in recent years. The roaring lion joins a growing bestiary of creations including the bear-themed Slim d’Hermès Grrrrr!, the wolf-inspired Arceau Awooooo! and the dinosaur-driven Arceau Pocket Aaaaargh!. Together, they form a distinctly Hermès approach to métiers d’art watchmaking: playful, expressive and technically uncompromising. That balance between fantasy and horological seriousness is central to the Hermès philosophy. As Delhotal puts it: “At Hermès we do things seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. We don’t compromise on technique; however, we are free in terms of creation which enable us to select drawings and motifs which play on the whimsical spirit. We do the same with our singular complications: twisting a traditional complication the Hermès way, with fanciful touches, offering unique emotions, to bring the complication to another sphere of expression.”
It’s this mindset that allows Hermès to succeed where others may struggle with striking the balance between irreverence and mechanical relevance. The Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar! is whimsical on the surface, but beneath the humour lies extraordinary craftsmanship. Its most striking feature is undoubtedly the wood marquetry adorning the cover, a painfully meticulous artisanal process adapted from traditional furniture decoration to the microscopic dimensions of watchmaking. The marquetry alone requires approximately 125 hours of work to assemble 352 individual wooden pieces across 10 different wood species. Each fragment is meticulously cut, assembled, glued and finished by hand. The greatest challenge, Delhotal reveals, was achieving realism in the lion’s mane, ensuring it appeared blended and seamless despite its intricate construction.
The cross-disciplinary dialogue between the Maison’s métiers has become one of the defining characteristics of Hermès Horloger. Silk design, leather craftsmanship, decorative arts and watchmaking increasingly intersect within these creations, blurring the boundaries between disciplines. “Watchmaking is one of the sixteen métiers of Hermès,” says Delhotal. “We are lucky enough to share inspirations, materials, colours and expertise between them.”
This collaborative philosophy has shaped the evolution of Hermès pocket watches over the past decade. Earlier creations explored horsehair marquetry, enamelling, engraving and mechanical animation, steadily transforming the pocket watch into a showcase for artistic experimentation. The Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar! feels like a natural culmination of that journey, not merely a nostalgic nod to historical watchmaking, but a reinvention of the format for modern collectors. And perhaps that is why the pocket watch suddenly feels relevant again. Unlike wristwatches, they demand deliberate engagement: the act of retrieving, opening, and contemplating the object becomes part of the experience itself.
Delhotal believes this emotional quality is central to their appeal: “Pocket watches are part of the origins of watchmaking and yet they stand the test of time, are passed down through generations, tell stories and stir emotions. What I particularly like about pocket watches is how, from a very traditional timepiece, we can bring it up to date with a contemporary twist on shape, the use of material or the design we reinterpret on a cover or dial.”
For Hermès collectors, these creations occupy a unique space between art object and timekeeping instrument. Produced in extremely limited numbers, their practicality is far from the point – they’re objects intended to be treasured, displayed and ultimately inherited. Still, the Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar! also hints at where Hermès Horloger may head next. Delhotal suggests the Maison sees virtually no boundaries between artistic crafts and horological innovation. Future pocket watches could incorporate more complex complications, further métiers d’art techniques, or entirely new storytelling approaches.
“We never know where creation and inventiveness will take us,” he says.
As the recent pocket watch revival proves, collectors are increasingly drawn to pieces with personality, craftsmanship and emotional resonance – and few contemporary Maisons embody those qualities more convincingly than Hermès.
Source: en.worldtempus.com
