South African-inspired Hermès watch set to sell for R1.1-million!

South African-inspired Hermès watch set to sell for R1.1-million!

And it's not even a Rolex!

South African inspired Hermes watch set to sell for R1,16million
Hermes.com

The art world has long been inspired by South Africa.

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The country and the many cultures within it have served as major inspo for some of the biggest design houses in the world.

Now luxury French fashion brand Hermès is joining the club!

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Hermès is well known for designing and creating one of the most iconic handbags in the world - the Birkin Bag.

But the brand has branched out over the decades and also crafts beautifully made and incredibly detailed accessories, which obviously include watches.

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And by the sounds of it, their timepieces could give Rolex a run for its money.

In 1978, Henri d'Origny, the artistic director of Hermès, created their signature watch - the Arceau. It's considered the 'grand classic' of Hermès watchmaking, since its design was greatly inspired by the horse saddle and harness craftsmanship heritage of the brand.

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Now, they have recently revealed their latest design and it's proudly South African!

Alice Shirley, a British artist, found inspiration during a trip to SA while she was on safari and came across three giraffes who were partially concealed by an acacia tree.

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The design she created, called the Three Graces, adorns the white gold and diamond-encrusted watch face. The design takes weeks to produce and there are 82 diamonds set into the white gold case and surrounding the anti-reflective sapphire crystal cover.

Obviously, this watch will come with a hefty price tag but even more so since only 24 of these watches will be made and they will be retailing for R1.1-million ($77,400) each.

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Have a look at the watch below:

South African inspired watch set to sell for R1,16million
Hermes.com

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To give you an idea of the craftsmanship that goes into producing one of these watches, Hermès provides a detailed description of the production of the piece, from the marquetry specialist to the painter.

The marquetry specialist has to work with 195 tiny pieces, putting them together like the most intricate puzzle.

South African inspired watch set to sell for R1,16million
Hermes.com

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Here is the description of what the painter does after the watch has been carefully and skillfully crafted:

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The collaboration also includes other accessories such as shawls, scarves, and bracelets, with prices ranging from around R9,000 ($600) to R52,500 ($3,500).

South African inspired watch set to sell for R1,16million
Hermes.com
South African inspired watch set to sell for R1,16million
Hermes.com

While we love to see SA inspiring some internationally sought-after pieces, we're not quite sure if we would spend that kind of money on a watch... even if we could!

It's still pretty though.

Stacey and J Sbu podcasts
East Coast Radio

Main image courtesy of www.presse.hermes.com

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