French watchmaker Herbelin has made its first watch in ceramic as part of its 35th anniversary celebration for the launch of the Newport collection.
The Newport Céramique comes in both 38mm and 43mm case sizes, each a limited edition of just 500 pieces.
It is a bold departure from the usual aesthetic of the Newport collection, which usually shows its nautical heritage in a range of chronographs with a ship’s porthole design.
The Céramique is pure simplicity in an all black polished ceramic case and dial, also in ceramic, which has no hour or minute markers.
The watch will be introduced to UK customers at next month’s WatchPro Salon.
Click for Salon tickets.
The minimalist look immediately draws the eye to the new Herbelin logo, which took over from the founders marque of Michel Herbelin last year.
The design marks a fresh direction for Herbelin, according to Mathieu Herbelin, grandson of the founder and associate creative director.
“It’s not just simply a ceramic watch,” he insists.
“Our desire is to introduce new materials over the course of time. After carbon and titanium, ceramic is perfectly tailored to anchor Newport even more firmly within the urban sport-chic world. We played with the material, working in a precise cutting-edge fashion, in order to exploit its properties to the maximum. Nothing was done by accident. We employed an architectural approach to watchmaking in order to create a designer timepiece par excellence,” he explains.
There is still a nod to the nautical, this time in a design inspired by futuristic stealth ships, and it continues to have a crown engraved with a ship’s wheel.
The watch is powered by the two-hand Sellita SW300-1 automatic movement with 56 hour power reserve.
Both the 38mm and 43mm models are sold on matte black rubber straps.
They are both priced at £1,799.
WatchPro Salon 2023
Herbelin is appearing at WatchPro Salon among a line up of around 40 prestigious brands and a carefully curated lounge of pre-owned businesses.
The event takes place at The Londoner Hotel on Leicester Square from November 10 to 11.
Click here for full details and to book your tickets.
The ever-expanding exhibitor list of watch brands and prestigious certified pre-owned traders includes:
ARCANAUT | AWAKE | BALL WATCH | BIANCHET | BLOOMBAR | BROOKLANDS WATCH COMPANY | CYRUS | CZAPEK & CIE. | DUCKWORTH PRESTEX | EBAY | ELLIOT BROWN | GERALD CHARLES | HERBELIN | IKEPOD | ISOTOPE | LUMINOX | MERAUD WATCHES | ORIENT | OUT OF ORDER | PERRELET | QLOCKTWO | ROBOT WATCH | SEIKO | SHERPA | SINN | SQUALE | TEMPUS LORD | THE WATCH REGISTER | THE DEVOY GROUP | THE DIAMOND BOX | VAN BRAUGE | VICTORINOX | WATCHES OF KNIGHTSBRIDGE | WOLF | YEMA WATCHES | ZEITWINKEL | ZODIAC
