Review: Hermès’ Super Hero “Super H” in Miniature Painting

Whimsical artisanal decoration.

Capturing the spirit of Hermès well with its whimsical yet artisanal dial, the Slim d’Hermès Minuit au Faubourg features a miniature painting depicting “Super H”, a caped superhero over the streets of Paris with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background. Because it is Hermès, the superhero is a horse and the location is 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the brand’s original store.

Like many of Hermès métiers d’art creations, the dial is inspired by a scarf. Here the motif is replicated in “micro-painting”, sometimes known as “cold enamel”, a technique that employs acrylic paint, much like larger-scale artwork.

Initial thoughts

Despite being one of the most desirable luxury brands – its shares trade at a higher valuation than any of peers – Hermès maintains a whimsical streak that is evident in many of its creations, including last year’s Space Derby depicting jockeys racing robot horses across the stars. The prices are serious and quality, high, but some products possess a subtle humour. The Minuit au Faubourg, which translates as “midnight at Faubourg”, is exactly that.

A superhero horse with a luminous “H” signal in the night sky – there are few other brands that can credibly pull off something similar. This is a testament to the careful curation of the Hermès brand.

But despite the comic book theme, the dial is executed entirely by hand. Although miniature painting in acrylic doesn’t have the cachet of enamel, indeed it is typically slightly more affordable, it is equally an artisanal craft that few really master. In fact, the best miniature painting is arguably superior to a middling miniature enamel.

This costs CHF62,000, or about 30% less than a similar watch with a fired enamel dial. But it is about one-third the price of a similar model with a miniature enamel dial. From that perspective, this watch and others like it with miniature paintings are comparatively well priced.

The model is available in blue or red (as pictured here), each limited to 24. Image – Hermes

Super H to the rescue

The dial is modelled on a 2014 scarf created by Dimitri Rybaltchenko, a longtime designer for Hermes. The scene depicts Super H on the roof of the Hermes store with Paris landmarks in the background, including the Invalides on the left, and beside it the obelisk on Place de la Concorde. On the right of the dial is the windmill of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, and above it the Eiffel Tower.

Here the Eiffel Tower projects the equivalent of the Bat-Signal, a giant, illuminated “H” into the Paris sky. And it is literally illuminated, as the searchlight beam is painted in Super-Luminova that glows in the dark.

The dial base is a disc of aventurine glass, with the characteristic metallic inclusions meant to evoke the night sky. This serves as the canvas for the miniature painting that is painted by an artisan in the traditional way, namely with paint, a brush, and a microscope. The paint is applied several layers high in some sections in order to create a gentle relief and create a canvas-like texture, an effect that is particularly noticeable on the beam of light and the superhero figure.

Hermes, to its credit, ready reveals the names of the artists who create its dials, which in this case is Line Descombes, a painter located near Besançon, once the heart of French watchmaking. Ms Descombes was also responsible for the painting in Le Guépard, the automaton-sonnerie clock made by John-Mikaël Flaux.

According to Hermes, each dial takes Ms Descombes 50 hours to complete. This is swifter process than a comparable painting in miniature enamel, primarily because acrylic miniature painting calls for fewer firings in an oven to set, while vitreous enamel requires one firing for each colour.

The rest of the watch is stock Slim d’Hermes. The 39 mm case is white gold and sports the signature wire-style lugs of the design. Like many Hermes case designs, the Slim looks and feels elegant, with proportions that are just right.

Inside is the H1950, the standard movement for this case size of the model. It’s a slim, large movement that fits well in the case. The decoration is a monochromatic rhodium-plating while the bridges are large, so many of the details don’t stand out. The micro-rotor, for instance, blends in.

However, the aesthetic suits the overall style of the watch. Even though the repeating monogram decoration on the bridges feels a bit retro, few brands employ this approach today, it works well here.

And finally, because the calibre is made by Vaucher, the movement supplier that’s a company of Parmigiani, the decoration and execution is high quality. It’s a high-end industrial calibre comparable to what you might find in a Jaeger-LeCoultre.