In the Pocket

From Hermès - 

Courtesy of 

Hermès 

And for the first time in a VERY LONG TIME I get to wake up to something REALLY  COOL in my in box - THANK YOU Hermès!

Essentially a pocket watch that can be worn as a wrist watch.  Now in fairness several companies out there have tried this concept.  And if I am very, very honest the results have always been half-sassed, ham-fisted efforts that get worn for a day or two then consigned to the closet or dresser drawer.  In going back through their past, Hermès found the perfect solution that offers something so much better than a "clamp on" strap. 

I'm going to let them tell the rest in their own words -

In The Pocket

With the In The Pocket watch, Hermès is reviving a fundamental piece that was to forge its watchmaking destiny already spanning more than a century of history. A family history mingling a love of horses, exceptional leather-making expertise, as well as a perpetually effervescent inventiveness in creating beautiful objects meeting practical needs.

It all began in 1912, when Jacqueline Hermès, still a child at the time, received a gift from her father in the shape of an ingenious “porte-oignon” or pocket-watch holder designed to be secured to the wrist. It had been designed so that the keen young horsewoman could ride without having to attach her watch to her clothing or slip it into her pocket. Testifying to the original Hermès expertise in the field of saddle- and harness-making, this leather strap was designed like those worn by stable lads, surrounding the pocket watch and adopting its shape so as to provide ideal protection. 

Courtesy of 

Hermès 

Reinvented in 2012 under the name “In The Pocket”, this iconic model now returns in a rose gold composition clad in a sophisticated alligator exterior. A pocket-watch that may be transformed at will into a wristwatch, it embodies both the historical leather hand craftsmanship of Hermès and its watchmaking development to the point of becoming a full-fledged Manufacture now in the hands of the seventh generation of the founding family.

Issued in a 178-piece limited edition, the In The Pocket watch is distinguished by its extreme sobriety. The 40 mm diameter of the delicately rounded rose gold case increases to 49 mm when worn on the wrist. Its finely grained silvered dial avoids any superfluous ornamentation so as to provide the clearest, most self-evident expression of time. The baton-type hands sweep over pared-down numerals, while the small seconds ticks round at 3 o’clock, all driven by the Manufacture Hermès H1837 movement with a 50-hour power reserve. Crafted in keeping with the finest horological traditions, this refined self-winding mechanism features a circular- grained and snailed mainplate, while its oscillating weight is adorned with the brand’s signature “sprinkling of Hs” motif. 

Courtesy of 

Hermès 

The incredibly complex strap of the “In The Pocket” model calls for lengthy and patient workmanship. Composed of two longer and shorter sections, the plain strap end and the buckle strap end (sanglon and boucleteau in French), it is hand crafted in the leather-making workshops of La Montre Hermès in Switzerland.

These two parts are composed of three layers of leather: alligator; an inner cow grain leather reinforcement ensuring impeccable sturdiness; and a Zermatt calfskin lining.

Courtesy of 

Hermès 

First comes the cutting process, including layer cutting; the hides are soaked and then pressed into a mould. They dry for 10 days before being cut with a pointed tool, layer- cut, sanded down and glued. Each of the parts is then partially sewn; the buckle strap end is perforated to free up the spaces that will reveal the dial and through which the plain strap end and the crown will pass.

The work continues on the table, with the buckle end and the plain strap end being fitted together, marked with a compass, indented and sewn using the saddle- stitching technique.

Courtesy of 

Hermès 

Then comes the finishing, including hammering the stitching, marking a furrow, dyeing and polishing with beeswax. With infinite patience, one operation after another, the artisans at La Montre Hermès thus lovingly create In The Pocket, a tribute to the watchmaking roots of the Maison. 

Here are the specs -

MOVEMENT
Type:

Mechanical self-winding, made in Switzerland. Manufacture Hermès H1837 movement

Diameter:
26 mm (11 1⁄2’’’)
Thickness:
3.7 mm
Power reserve:
50 hours
Frequency:
28,800 vibrations per hour / 4 Hz
Jewelling:
28 jewels
Decoration:
Mainplate with circular-grained and snailed finish, satin-brushed bridges and oscillating weight with “sprinkling of Hs” motif, Hermès Paris engraving
Functions:

Hours, minutes, small seconds

at 3 o’clock


CASE
Shape/dimensions:
Round, 40mm diameter
Material:
750 5N rose gold (approx. 52.8 g)
Glass:
Antiglare sapphire crystal and case back
Water resistance:
3 bar

DIAL
Silvered dial with anthracite transfer

BUCKLE

750 rose gold (approx. 5.2 g) 17 mm pin buckle

750 rose gold (approx. 3 g) snap link

LEATHER
Matt havana alligator strap and cord-strap