Hermès is a maison known for its elegance and luxury. More often than not, people associate Hermès with horses and the equestrian world. But the Maison also dips its toes in the world of sailing and open seas. Their Nantucket miniature watch is back and now features the delightful anchor chain motif. Anchors can symbolize strength and stability, and thanks to Hermès, they also mean playfulness and vibrance.

The Hermès Nantucket miniature watch is decidedly elegant and playful at the same time. The miniature size, actually called a Very Small Model, belies its power as a timepiece. It may be small (rather, Very Small) but it has a wonderful history behind it. In 1938, Robert Dumas took a trip to the Normandy coast. While there, the chain links of the boat’s anchor caught his eye. Creative as he was, he drew inspiration from the links and designed a bracelet for the brand. That initial design would soon become an Hermès classic.

A few decades later, in 1991, another Hermès creative mind planned to design a square watch. Henri d’Origny developed two concepts worthy of further exploration: ‘a square in a rectangle’ and ‘a rectangle in a rectangle.’ Yes, the same Henri d’Origny that is the Hermès Artistic Director and the brains behind the fabulous Hermès ties.

Combining the chain link design with the ‘rectangle in rectangle’ concept seemed a natural choice. The result was the Anchor Chain, created with half-links, and a sleek aesthetic. The Nantucket jewellery watch was the perfect combination of femininity and elegance.

The new Nantucket Jeté de Chaîne d’Ancre miniature watch, or Nantucket Anchor Chain miniature watch, combines the dainty ‘very small’ size with the chain link images in a most playful way. The rectangular steel case has been produced by Hermès Horloger workshops. The links come into play on the dial, in four gem-set images of varying sizes. The playfulness extends to the case itself, and you can imagine the sea winds blowing some of the links from the dial to the case.