Hermes Unveils Impatient Watch

Baselworld never ceases to amaze us — with so many great new innovations making their debut. This year, Hermes unveils the Impatient Watch, a sequel to its much-loved Time Suspended (Le Temps Suspendu) watch that allowed the wearer to stop time with the push of a button. The official name of the new timepiece, another collaboration between La Montre Hermes and famed watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, is the Slim d'Hermes L'Heure Impatiente.

Working with Widerrecht's watchmaking lab, Agenhor, Hermes came up with yet another surprise in this watch. Essentially, it is an alarm watch, but it operates differently from most in that it celebrates the hour leading up to an important moment — whether it is a meeting, a rendezvous or some other important event.

All the wearer needs to do is set an upcoming time on a subdial and then, when the time is one hour before the set time, a countdown from 60 to the moment of the meeting begins. When the time arrives, a chime sounds out loud.

The module that enables this function was built by Agenhor and resides on top of an ultra-thin Hermes movement (produced by Vaucher). Having a bit of fun and whimsy in the building of the module, Wiederrecht has built the tooth of the cam in the form of a shark, and the rack that activates the hours is built in the likeness of Pegasus, the winged horse. The module also uses a special spring and a host of other top watchmaking feats. The Slim d’Hermès L’Heure Impatiente is crafted in 18-karat rose gold.