Hermes H08 Review
The Hermès H08 in natural titanium (left) with fabric strap, and DLC-coated titanium (right) with rubber strap.
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Hermès as a brand. I started out with their leather goods, and once I found out that they had watch straps available, I quickly amassed a collection of straps and coined the hashtag #hermesstrapclub. With the latest H08 collection from Hermès, however, there’s nary a leather strap to be found - but it just works.
The Hermès H08 with DLC-coated titanium case and orange rubber strap.
The H08 line marks a sporty departure from their typical watch styles, which tend to be on the dress side of the spectrum. The collection is not meant for extreme conditions like deep sea diving or mountaineering, but rather for a casual sporty lifestyle. They can easily go from the office to after-work drinks and into the weekend. And though they’re marketed as timepieces for men, they’d easily fit into a woman’s collection.
The Hermès H08 in natural titanium (left) with fabric strap, and DLC-coated titanium (right) with rubber strap.
The design of the collection focuses on shapes - the case shape is a circle within a square, but the square has rounded corners that complement the circular shape of the sandwich dial. Perhaps the most striking (and controversial, if you ask the Internet) aspect of the watch is the typeface used for the numerals, which was created specifically for this line. According to Philippe Delhotal in Elizabeth Doerr’s excellent write-up of the collection, the shape of the 0 and the 8 echo and complement the shape of the bezel.
A close-up of the applied numerals on the dial of the H08.
As someone very familiar with the brand, the 8 in this typeface reminds me very much of the iconic Chaine d’Ancre motif in their fashion jewelry line. Though Hermès does take inspiration from other métiers within the brand, such as when they created the exceptional C’est la Fete version of the Slim d’Hermès inspired by a scarf design of the same name, the resemblance here could be mere coincidence.
The Hermès H08, with a partial view of the deployant buckle.
The two pieces I was able to spend time with were the titanium models, one in natural titanium and one in black DLC-coated titanium. It will surprise no one that I gravitated toward the DLC-coated version, partly due to my penchant for dark watches, but also because I really enjoyed the contrast between the coated and non-coated titanium on the case. This model also had an orange rubber strap, which made it feel like a fun summer watch, but the addition of the DLC lent it a bit more gravitas. The dial is extremely legible due to the contrast between the black gold-coated dial and the applied numerals, which are coated in a nickel alloy and have Super-Luminova for enhanced visibility. And while some watch enthusiasts hate a date window at 4:30, I think Hermès did an admirable job of including it here without detracting from the overall symmetry of the dial design.
A close-up of the applied numerals and date window on the H08.
On the wrist, the H08 is very comfortable - the titanium makes it lightweight and wearable, and the rounded corners on the square case make it easy to slip under a cuff. It’s also suitable for a variety of wrist sizes. It worked on my small wrist just as well as on a friend’s larger wrist, largely due to the integrated strap design and comfortable deployant buckle. However, if I had one small nitpick, I would choose the standard deployant that Hermès uses for its leather straps instead, because it is thinner than the version on the H08 and arguably a bit more comfortable. The H08 utilizes the in-house automatic Caliber H1837, which has a 50-hour power reserve, more than enough for a weekend of outdoor activity.
The Hermès H08 on the author’s wrist. (Photo: Kathleen McGivney)
Overall, I thought the H08 collection was a great, sporty addition to an already stellar lineup of watches from Hermès, which is a brand that sometimes gets overlooked from a watchmaking perspective. Their high-quality movements and attention to detail in design and finishing are worth a second look.
A close-up of the beautiful case finishing on the H08.
