Hands-On Debut: Hermes Launches New H08 Watch Collection

Hermes has invested considerable resources in developing its watchmaking division in recent years, and they have just released an all-new mens watch collection for Watches Wonders 2021. The Hermes H08 fills in one of the most glaring gaps in the brands catalog by offering a casual everyday watch thats versatile and tough but still has that uniquely Hermes quirkiness and style.
The totally new case of the Hermes H08 feels like a younger sibling of the Carre H that sheds some of the eccentricity in exchange for more mainstream design choices. Rather than having wire lugs (which I personally love) and a perfectly square case, the H08 goes with a more everyday and versatile design with more traditional lugs and rounded edges. Hermes isnt billing the H08 as a sports watch (which it really isnt) but rather as a balanced all-terrain piece that wont feel out of place with a t-shirt and shorts or with a suit. The lightweight titanium case, comfortable and well-constructed strap, lumed hands, AR-coating, and yes, 100M of water resistance, back this up pretty well.
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The Hermes H08 comes in three varieties: classic titanium; a black DLC-coated titanium (which is the one I went hands-on with here); and a Graphene case. While I didnt handle the Graphene model, Im intrigued by its use, as its a material Ive only seen used once or twice in the past by Richard Mille (and that was on a$1,000,000 watch). An allotrope of carbon, Graphene is a sixth the weight of steel and 200 (!) times stronger. Id love to get my hands on this model soon.While the Carre H was designed by Marc Berthier, the H08 is designed all in-house as a collaboration between Veronique Nichanian (Creative Director), Pierre-Alexis Dumas (Artistic Director at Hermes), and Philippe Delhotal (Artistic Director at Hermes Horloger).

Its interesting that Hermes is marketing the H08 specifically as a mens piece rather than the increasingly adopted unisex category, but I do understand why a brand thats so ubiquitously a fashion house before a watch brand feels the need to categorize. Also, the case is on the larger side measuring 39 x 39mm, which is typically pretty large for a square watch, but the cushion shape, rounded edges, and short lugs keep it from feeling too extra. I wore the watch for maybe an hour before really getting into the specs, and if youd asked me to guess the size, I probably would have landed on 37.5 or 38mm.

The bezel has nice satin brushing on the titanium and youll notice mirror-polished chamfering done along the edges. On this model there is DLC coating along the sides of the case though if youre not a fan, there is the all-titanium option as well.The dial is done in a black nickel coating with a nicely grained central disc and a black gold-coated satin-brushed minutes ring. The distinctly styled Arabic numerals are pure Hermes, and the date window at 4:30 matches the dial and is pretty unobtrusively sized. Very legible with lumed hands and indices, the H08 lets the relatively subtle touches like font and the orange-tipped seconds hand convey the Hermes design language without drawing too much attention to itself.
The H08 I wore came on a blue strap with a titanium clasp and was quite comfortable on the wrist, though there is also a fabric and rubber strap option in orange that I would like to try out.
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Turning the case over shows the automatic manufacture H1837 movement, which was first introduced back in 2012 in the Dressage collection. The H1837 was the first in-house movement done for Hermes after they acquired a 25% stake in Vaucher back in 2006 (with the Sandoz Family Foundation/Parmigiani owning the majority stake). Not to be mistaken for their micro-rotor movements, the H1837 has a full rotor along with a double barrel. With a balance frequency of 28,800 vph and 50-hour power reserve, the H1837 is decorated with the repeating H-pattern that has become standard for the brand.
The Hermes H08 is a promising new collection from the brand and I think its their most versatile piece yet. I was also pretty pleased when I got the prices because I think they are very fair. The Hermes H08 in titanium on strap is priced at $5,500, the titanium model on titanium bracelet is priced at $6,050,?the titanium with black DLC on strap (as seen here) is $5,700, and the graphene model is priced at $8,900. Though its the priciest, I am most intrigued by the graphene and am very curious to see what Hermes does with the material moving forward. You can learn more at hermes.com.