Musing: Shopping Spree
Netherlands here!
A shopping spree, whatever this vague term means, would take me to Paris, Düsseldorf, München or Zürich, as long as there is a Hermes store.
Paris is one of the best places to wander, to discover the unique flavours Paris has to offer and to shop, shop, shop, which definitely would take me to Hermes. Opposite the George V there is such a Hermes store I have frequented in the search of silk ties, scarfs, or other items. Behind the facade and the wood panels, the shop windows with their mahogany frames are always glowing invitingly, just like Hermès’s range of luxury creations always do.
WJJH 9.2.2024
Musing: The prompt asks: “Where would you go on a shopping spree?”
In what kind of world do we wish to live 
Let me commend you on the choice, whereby, as a “luxury journalist” I should not take sides, as it were, we try to stay as objective as possible in a world where emotion is supposed to be king or queen.. … Hermès has been around since 1837 and is a wonderful example of the rise of the middle classes during the industrial revolution. The company saw the opportunity in creating a fashion for people who were acquiring wealth thanks to the wealth being generated by technological innovations, like railroads, machines in factories, etc… (Sure, there were sweat shops and misery and tuberculosis… still, this is a fact, wealth was trickling down, at the time, thanks to PRODUCTS)…They started as saddlers (Hermès watches still have stirrup-shaped lugs and the logo is, of course, a horse and buggy)…
A remarkable company, founded by Thierry Hermès, who was born in Germany to a German mother and French father.I’m not sure if Hermès was Protestant or not, or was it his German ancestry, but his approach to business and design certainly had that feel: do not make your product yell “Look at me, I am loud and gaudy, so I must be rich!” —-The company knew how to expand into other countries and widen its product portfolio, for example, to bags (a very logical addition, since horses meant travel, and travel meant suitcases, and leather was a good base… in fact they introduced the zipper as way to shut bags)…
I know the world of horology… Hermès’s first watches were made in collaboration with Universal in Geneva in the 1930s (also a travel thing… keeping up with train schedules, etc) … Today, they are made in Bienne/Biel, and so are the straps in a remarkable manufacture I visited years ago. The complications are always subtle, like the Heure Suspendu, or the Heure Impatiente, for which they turned to the expertise of Agenhor. The Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, a collaboration with Chronode, headed by Jean-François Mojon, earned itself a watch Oscar in Geneva 2022, The organization of the dial is always “orderly”…This might count for the fact that they have quietly taken a large section of the much-coveted Chinese market. So, yes… Hermès…
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