Henri d'Origny's Cape Cod has always been an exercise in productive tension—a square dial locked inside a rectangular case, geometry arguing with itself in the most elegant way possible. Since 1991, the design's anchor-chain link silhouette has proven remarkably resistant to the passage of time, evolving through material and color variations without ever needing to rethink its fundamental architecture. Now, Hermès has found a new way to say something with it: say less.
The Cape Cod Mini reduces the case to 20 x 27 mm, and the compression does something interesting. Rather than diminishing the design's graphic impact, the smaller footprint amplifies it. The "square within a rectangle" proportions become more pronounced, the curve of the case becomes more sculptural, and the relationship between strap and case becomesmore intimate. It is the same architectural vocabulary—the same visual grammar d'Origny committed to paper over three decades ago—distilled into a format that trades presence for intensity.
Things to Know
Seven executions span two case materials and a considered range of dial tones. The steel versions arrive in three colourways: a sunburst silvered dial with raised Arabic numerals and rhodium-plated polished baton hands; a sunburst Étoupe dial that matches the earthy restraint Hermès collectors know well; and a sunburst slate-toned Ardoise variant with the same rhodium-plated handset. Both steel models with diamond-set bezels carry 46 stones totalling 0.262 carats, one pairing a silvered dial with pearled hour markers at three, six, nine, and twelve, and the other with a Gris Perle Athena calfskin strap.
The yellow gold executions—each weighing 23.041 grams before the strap—push the palette into warmer territory. A sunburst gold dial appears in two configurations: one with raised Arabic numerals, the other diamond-set with 46 stones and pearled markers at the cardinal hours.
The most visually assertive variant pairs a yellow gold case with a sunburst Rouge H dial and gilded baton hands, matched to a Rouge H Swift calfskin strap with a yellow gold pin buckle—2.5 grams. It is, by some margin, the most Hermès execution of the group—the house's signature red contained within its signature case shape.
Summary & Price
All models share a Swiss quartz movement indicating hours and minutes, an anti-glare sapphire crystal, and water resistance to 30 meters. Straps are crafted in the Hermès Horloger workshops in single or double-tour configurations, ranging from Swift calfskin to Chamkilight goatskin, depending on the reference—each calibrated to echo the chromatic identity of its dial.
The Cape Cod Mini is a lesson in how proportion alone can redefine character. Nothing about the design has changed, and yet everything about its presence on the wrist has. Hermès understood that the Cape Cod didn't need more—it needed less. Available for purchase mid-April.
Sticker Price TBC. More information here.
