Some timepieces are created for more than simply telling the time. When storytelling becomes an essential element of design, the Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar! by Philippe Delhotal is exactly that kind of creation. Even its name seems to roar, as though Hermès wishes to remind its wearer that what rests in your hand is far more than a mere instrument of timekeeping.
Its story inspired by the savannah and the artworks of Alice Shirley, the British artist whose silk scarf designs bring lions vividly to life. Mouth agape, mane untamed, eyes fixed upon something unseen, her original illustration has now been reinterpreted not upon silk, but across the miniature canvas of a pocket watch cover. Crafted using ten varieties of precious wood, each carefully selected to reflect the lion’s natural tones, the piece becomes a work of marquetry as much as horology.
Amaranth, burl, bubinga, tulipwood and maple are individually cut into varying shapes before being assembled like a puzzle with no guiding image, relying solely upon the precision and instinct of the artisan. The result is a lion’s mane with remarkable depth and movement, each strand appearing as though stirred gently by the wind.
Lift the openworked cover, and another world quietly reveals itself. A Grand Feu enamel dial emerges, created through a firing process exceeding 800 degrees Celsius — not merely drying colour, but permanently fusing pigment into the metal itself until the two can no longer be separated.
Its herringbone motif catches and reflects the light from every angle, before being delicately hand-painted across a 45 mm white gold case. Beneath it, the Manufacture Hermès H1950 performs in silence, requiring no attention despite the complexity within.
Because with this timepiece, precision is not the pinnacle, but merely the foundation. Beyond that lies artistry. The watch is accompanied by a leather cord and a bespoke matte crocodile leather pouch in matt vert cyprès or bleu saphir, both carefully chosen to echo the two defining shades of this creation. The creations are limited to just three examples in each colour, only six pieces in the world. The Slim d’Hermès Pocket Roaaaaar! feels less like an object designed to measure time, and more like something created to preserve it.
