South African-inspired Hermès watch set to sell for R1.1-million!
And it's not even a Rolex!
The art world has long been inspired by South Africa.
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The country and the many cultures within it have served as major inspo for some of the biggest design houses in the world.
Now luxury French fashion brand Hermès is joining the club!
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Hermès is well known for designing and creating one of the most iconic handbags in the world - the Birkin Bag.
But the brand has branched out over the decades and also crafts beautifully made and incredibly detailed accessories, which obviously include watches.
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And by the sounds of it, their timepieces could give Rolex a run for its money.
In 1978, Henri d'Origny, the artistic director of Hermès, created their signature watch - the Arceau. It's considered the 'grand classic' of Hermès watchmaking, since its design was greatly inspired by the horse saddle and harness craftsmanship heritage of the brand.
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Now, they have recently revealed their latest design and it's proudly South African!
Alice Shirley, a British artist, found inspiration during a trip to SA while she was on safari and came across three giraffes who were partially concealed by an acacia tree.
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The design she created, called the Three Graces, adorns the white gold and diamond-encrusted watch face. The design takes weeks to produce and there are 82 diamonds set into the white gold case and surrounding the anti-reflective sapphire crystal cover.
Obviously, this watch will come with a hefty price tag but even more so since only 24 of these watches will be made and they will be retailing for R1.1-million ($77,400) each.
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Have a look at the watch below:
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To give you an idea of the craftsmanship that goes into producing one of these watches, Hermès provides a detailed description of the production of the piece, from the marquetry specialist to the painter.
The marquetry specialist has to work with 195 tiny pieces, putting them together like the most intricate puzzle.
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Here is the description of what the painter does after the watch has been carefully and skillfully crafted:
This marquetry decoration comes to life in the heart of a work that also requires meticulous care and a flair for colours. On a scintillating aventurine base, the painter traces the outlines of the motif before placing the piece in the kiln to fix the colours in place. He then forms the various volumes of the background vegetation using successive layers of micro-painting applied with a brush and heat-dried in a kiln. He proceeds in the same way for the flat areas of colours, before finalizing his composition with small precise touches. The challenge of such an endeavour lies in miniaturising a rich palette of nuances, contrasts and subtle details. Several weeks of rigorous discipline, patience and dexterity are required to produce this dial, which is by nature unique.
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The collaboration also includes other accessories such as shawls, scarves, and bracelets, with prices ranging from around R9,000 ($600) to R52,500 ($3,500).
While we love to see SA inspiring some internationally sought-after pieces, we're not quite sure if we would spend that kind of money on a watch... even if we could!
It's still pretty though.
Main image courtesy of www.presse.hermes.com