The Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune is the kind of watch that makes restraint feel deliberate rather than austere.
At 39.5 mm across and 8.8 mm thick, it sits in that increasingly appealing middle ground where dress-watch elegance meets contemporary presence.
Its real character, though, comes from the way Hermès exposes the mechanics without allowing the display to become cluttered.
At a glance
- Hermès presents the Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune in a 39.5 mm case offered in DLC-treated titanium or full-polished 950 platinum.
- The watch uses an openworked extra-thin Manufacture Hermès H1953 automatic calibre with a micro-rotor and double moon phase display.
- The design focuses on slim proportions, visible movement architecture and a moon phase indication for both Northern and Southern hemispheres.
A 39.5 mm case with real everyday poise
The Slim d’Hermès line has always been about proportion, and this Squelette Lune keeps that idea intact.
The 39.5 mm diameter should suit a broad range of wrists, while the 8.8 mm thickness gives the watch enough slimness to disappear neatly under a cuff without feeling fragile or underbuilt.
Hermès offers the model in two sharply different executions.
One uses DLC-treated titanium, bringing a darker, more technical personality to the openworked architecture.
The other is crafted in full-polished 950 platinum, a more traditional precious-metal choice that plays especially well with the blue accents across the display.
Neither version leans on oversized drama, which is part of the appeal.
The case lets the movement do the visual work, while the dimensions keep the watch refined rather than theatrical.
The openworked H1953 calibre is the main event
Skeletonised watches can easily become decorative exercises, but the Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune is more disciplined than that.
The extra-thin Manufacture Hermès H1953 calibre was conceived as an openworked movement, rather than a conventional movement that has simply been cut away after the fact.
That distinction matters because removing material from bridges and plates can affect rigidity if the architecture isn’t planned properly from the beginning.
Here, the filigreed structure is part of the engineering, with the mainplate and bridges shaped to preserve stability while opening up the view.
The movement is made up of 178 components and brings together several finishes visible from the front, including hand-chamfered and bead-blasted bridges, perlage, graining and mirror-polished screws.
The barrel is left without a cover, allowing the mainspring to be seen as it stores and releases energy.
A micro-rotor is also visible toward the upper-right side of the display, providing automatic winding while helping keep the overall profile thin.
That choice also preserves more of the openworked view than a full-size winding rotor would allow.
A double moon phase with a cleaner dial layout
Hermès keeps the indications deliberately focused.
The watch displays hours, minutes and a double moon phase at 6 o’clock, resisting the temptation to overload an already complex visual composition.
The fine rhodium-plated baton hands sit above a blue minuterie with a sunray motif and crisp white markings.
Arabic numerals in the house’s distinctive typeface mark the hours, giving the open display a recognisable Slim d’Hermès identity.
The moon phase aperture is integrated into the minuterie, which helps the complication feel embedded in the design rather than placed on top of it.
The double moon phase shows the lunar cycle for both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, with photorealistic moons adding a softer, more poetic counterpoint to the exposed mechanics.
When the moons are in darkness, the view near 6 o’clock opens further to reveal the motion of the fourth wheel and escape wheel.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Hermès |
|---|---|
| Model | Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune |
| Case size | 39.5 mm |
| Case thickness | 8.8 mm |
| Case material | DLC-treated titanium or full-polished 950 platinum |
| Dial | Openworked display with blue minuterie and Arabic numerals |
| Movement | Extra-thin Manufacture Hermès H1953 automatic calibre |
| Winding | Automatic winding by micro-rotor |
| Complication | Double moon phase for Northern and Southern hemispheres |
| Components | 178 |
| Finishing | Hand-chamfered and bead-blasted bridges, perlage, graining and mirror-polished screws |
The Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune works because it doesn’t treat thinness, skeletonisation or complication as isolated talking points.
It brings them together with the kind of visual calm Hermès does particularly well, resulting in a moon phase watch for collectors who prefer precision, proportion and a little mechanical theatre over obvious spectacle.
