The 2021 launch of the H08 was Hermès’s giant leap into the mainstream; the luxury titan had made men’s watches before — whimsical, elegant and complicated ones — but never something that sat in the same division as an Omega or IWC. And with its rounded shape, custom typeface, bold juxtaposition of industrially inspired materials and flashes of color, the H08 carved out an identity quite unlike any other mainstream sports watch.
Now the maison is doubling down on its foray into watchmaking’s heartland with the one complication that sporty, toolish watchmakers view as their territory: a chronograph. The design harks back to the original H08 look, with a carbon fiber case, ceramic bezel and bright yellow accents — while the time-only watch has evolved to include versions in aluminized glass fiber, titanium, and rose gold.
Powered by Hermès’ caliber H1837 automatic movement with a Dubois Dépraz (one of the industry’s most trusted suppliers) chronograph module, the watch’s standout feature is its monopusher construction. Chronograph pushers can often spoil the lines of a shaped case; by incorporating the start, stop and reset functions into a single button on the crown, Hermès was able to maintain the silhouette of the H08 and preserve the sense of sleek minimalism while inevitably contending with a more crowded dial layout.
Here, the use of textural variation and playful typography — for instance, the radial layout of the numerals on the chronograph subdials — carries over the instantly recognizable look of the H08. With 100m water resistance and one of the most elegant rubber straps out there, it’s a style statement that can also take a bit of punishment.
Priced at £10,200 (approx. $13,575), the watch is available now in Hermès boutiques.