The best thing about returning to watch trade shows like Watches and Wonders is seeing something completely unexpected. So far, this year has been good for that with brands making up for two years of no shows with big wows. But none, so far, has quite surprised and impressed us like Hermès. Though their history with watchmaking is deep, ever since the launch of the Slim d?Hermès in 2015, they?ve been regularly on the radar of enthusiasts and collectors. Watches like their Arceau L?Heure De La Lune showed that they have a unique ability to mix a charmingly whimsical sensibility with serious watchmaking skills. For 2022, they?ve created what feels like a spiritual successor to that watch with the Hermès Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, a design as clever as it is intuitive.
World and travel timers are notoriously difficult to read at a glance, with a few exceptions. There?s typically an overload of information spread across various hands and rotating bezels or disks. For the Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, Hermès along with movement developer Chronode, created a system that is as elegant as useful. Though at first glance the dial might appear as complex as other worldtimers with a full world map and timezones represented by cities along a chapter ring, the way it is read, however, is quite straightforward.

At 12 is a discreet aperture that shows the hour at your home time on a 24-hour scale disk. Towards the center is a large secondary dial with an hour and minute hand. Thi...