The Arceau Samarcande Minute Repeater is the piece at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026 that most clearly places Hermès in a conversation with the established haute horlogerie houses. A minute repeater on demand, a skeletonized movement designed exclusively for Hermès, a dial carved from Saint-Louis crystal into the silhouette of a horse's head. This watch is both the most technically serious watch Hermès showed this year and the one most deeply rooted in the maison's equestrian identity.
Things to Know About the Watch
The Arceau case, originally designed by Henri d'Origny in 1978, is available in 38 mm white gold with a blue dial, or in rose gold, as here. Its asymmetrical stirrup-inspired lugs have remained unchanged for nearly five decades. The signature detail is the dial: a piece of Saint-Louis crystal—the French crystal house in which Hermès holds a stake—openworked into the precise outline of a horse's head. A sapphire cut-out within the crystal motif frames a direct view of the repeater mechanism beneath.
The Movement
The display case back allows for a full view of the movement, exposing the minute repeater hammers and the micro-rotor, which is finely decorated with the Duc attelé motif, the Hermès' carriage-and-horse emblem. The beating heart is the caliber H1927S, a new skeletonized self-winding movement developed and produced exclusively for Hermès. It comprises 355 components, is powered by a micro-rotor, and delivers a 48-hour power reserve. Its repeating function strikes hours, quarter hours, and minutes on demand via a slide mechanism. Movement finishing covers beveled angles, mirror polishing, chamfering, circular satin finishing, and bead blasting—a specification level appropriate for a complication of this register. The calibre was purpose-built, therefore, this is not an externally sourced repeater architecture adapted for Hermès use.
On the Wrist & Price
The Arceau Samarcande Minute Repeater does not need the horse's head to validate its horological credentials, but it earns the iconography. When the gong sounds beneath that crystalline equine silhouette, it is exactly the kind of object only Hermès could produce. Also available in 18K white gold with a blue dial and no diamonds.
Sticker Price USD 306,800. More info on Hermès here.
