Introducing: The Hermès H08 In Rose Gold And Black Titanium With A Black Ceramic Bezel
The new year is well underway, and Watches and Wonders 2023 is coming up in two months. You can already feel it in the Fratello office as many brands send us teasers about what they’ll be revealing. Hermès even thought it would be nice to warm us up with an actual release. It’s not a completely new watch, but it is a new iteration of the Hermès H08 in rose gold. This actually marks the first time that the French luxury maison has used a precious metal for the H08’s case construction. Let’s take a quick look.
Right at the end of last year, I was able to handle the H08 by Hermès for the first time. It was the Blue Edition that Lex had in for a hands-on review. Its case shape did remind me a bit of my Cartier Santos, but then again, the round dial and those funky numerals give it a completely different vibe. It was a very sporty vibe, especially for a watch from Hermès, so it’s interesting to see the brand using a precious metal like rose gold for the first time instead of the much lighter titanium of the previous H08 variants. It’s like combining the luxurious image I have of Hermès with the sporty character of the H08.
The familiar face of the H08
Let’s go over the basics first. The cushion-shaped case still measures 39mm wide, 42mm from lug to lug, and 11mm thick. It houses the Vaucher-made H1837 automatic caliber, which provides a 50-hour power reserve when fully wound and runs at 28,800vph (4Hz). You can look at it through the sapphire case back while getting lost in a sea of “H” logos all over the bridges and the rotor. The dial layout is also very similar to earlier versions of the H08.
The funky numerals are still there, only this time, they’re made of rose gold to match the case. They sit on a finely grained black surface, which is interrupted by the radially satin-brushed nickel minute track. The hour and minute hands are covered in 4N rose gold, unlike the seconds hand, which is covered in pitch-black nickel. The somewhat awkward date aperture is still between 4 and 5 o’clock, but at least the colors and the font match the ones on the dial. Let’s move on to the materials that Hermès has used for the case this time.
Rose gold instead of titanium
Because this is where it gets interesting. Previous iterations of the H08 were all made from a combination of a titanium case and a ceramic bezel. That polished and brushed ceramic bezel and the ceramic crown are still here. This time, however, only the case back is made of black DLC titanium, and the fully brushed main case is made out of rose gold. I’m looking forward to holding both the titanium and the rose gold version of the H08 next to each other at Watches and Wonders in a few months. It will be interesting to feel the significant difference in weight between the lightweight titanium and the much heavier rose gold.
Lex had his doubts about the black and blue color combination on the Blue Edition of the H08. I do know for a fact, though, that black ceramic in combination with rose gold looks really nice in person. In fact, the Omega Seamaster 300M with a Sedna rose gold and black ceramic bezel might be my favorite iteration. Yellow gold would definitely have given this a flashier appearance on the wrist, but the rose gold case tones it down a bit. Of course, it’s still gold, but it’s a classy kind of gold, exactly the kind you’d expect to find on the sporty H08.
Available as of June
The Hermès H08 in rose gold comes on a black rubber strap. You can also choose to have it with or without anthracite fabric webbing running over the middle. The watch will be available in stores in June for a price of €16,000. If you’re interested, please take a look at the official Hermès website to find a store near you.
Let me know what you think of the Hermès H08 in rose gold in the comments!
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