Hermès presents its first skeleton H08 watch and playful scenography at Watches & Wonders 2026

Hermès Horloger has traditionally taken a thoughtful approach to Watches & Wonders, bypassing the neutrality of Geneva’s Palexpo with epic set designs from which to showcase the year’s new watch releases.

This year is no different, with Hermès presenting a creative scenography in tribute to the new Hermès H08 Squelette watch. The Hermès H08, originally launched in 2021, now releases its first skeleton watch, presented in two versions, and crafted in black PVD-treated titanium to ensure a wearable lightness. ‘This type of development is particularly well suited to the Hermès H08 line, which emphasises lightness through the openwork architecture of the movement and the use of technical materials that affirm its urban and all-terrain character,’ says Philippe Delhotal, creative director of Hermès Horloger.

‘The titanium skeleton allows for playfulness with the transparency and visual airiness of the movement, while preserving essential robustness thanks to a contemporary graphic structure. It is also a real technical challenge: removing material while ensuring the movement functions properly require great precision. This piece returns to the very essence of the Hermès H08, a watch that explores materials and can be worn every day. Hermès' vision imagines the skeleton as a scaffold, both architectural and daring.’

For Delhotal, it is a natural extension of the elegant sportiness of the H08. ‘It extends the spirit of the Hermès H08 line by orchestrating a dialogue between angles and curves, exploring materials and playing with colours, another essential language for the maison,’ he adds.

Its distinctive skeleton silhouette, with its play on clean lines and negative space, has inspired French designer and artist Jean-Simon Roch in his Watches & Wonders scenography for Hermès.

In the immersive space, Roch peels back the curtain, drawing on his artistic experience of working with animated objects to reveal the magical inner workings of the skeleton movement. ‘I love it when you perceive what's behind an effect, when you sense a simple principle that produces something wonderful,’ he says. ‘Revealing what's hidden also invites the audience into the story, making the piece familiar. An effect is often a chain reaction of movements, which are often just as choreographed as the effect itself. Like a music box, who hasn't enjoyed opening it to watch the drum turn?’

Roch has worked with Hermès before, appreciating the attention to detail which extends beyond surface level. ‘Being able to immerse myself in the Emile Hermès collections, finding drawings of old theatres and engravings of ancient ceremonial arrangements, was more than rewarding,’ he says. ‘I also knew that close attention would be paid to the installation, which is essential for a piece of this size. Hermès understands and respects the time artists and artisans need to complete a project, which is one of the most important things in the creative process.’

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