Beneath the fine exterior of the Hermes Arceau Temps Suspendu lies the answer to time. If the workings were not the result of exceptional craftsmanship and mechanical ingenuity, one may think the time-play is pure magic. The Arceau Temps Suspendu, as its name suggests, can stop time, and then when time must move on, as time will do, the hands of the timepiece will find the time and place and continue as though time stopped is but a memory.If you are a tad confused, let me explain. About the 9 'o' clock position lies a pusher when depressed brings hour and minute hand to the 12 'o'clock position. The hands remain motionless. To increase the feeling of timelessness, the retrograde date hand completely disappears. Time stoppage can last for seconds, minutes, hours, days - even weeks, but when one needs to track time once again, simply depress the pusher and the three hand spring to the correct current time and date. However, do not be deceived by the motionless dial display. Concealed within the case, a precision mechanical movement keeps tracking the time.
Adding to the Iconic Arceau Watch Collection ,created by Henri d’Origny in 1978, the new Arceau Temps Suspendu makes it debut at Baselworld 2011. To create this innovative masterpiece, protected by two patents, Hermes CEO, Luc Perramond sought the expertise of world renowned watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, CEO of Agenhor, Geneva. The same Wiederrecht who in 1988, in partnership with Roger Dubois developed the world's first bi-retrograde perpetual calender, and the same Wiederrecht, who prior to this was only known to horological insider, won the inaugural prize for Best Watchmaker at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve.
This handsome timepiece both conceals and reveals: conceals the passage of time, when, on those rare wonderful occasions time can be forgotten, and reveals the elegant refined timepieces recognized as a Hermes timepiece.
