The horse is everywhere in Hermès’ history. Still, it is almost nowhere to be seen in Into the Horsescape, the house’s new high jewellery collection.
Instead of creating literal interpretations of the animal, Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès Jewellery, explores the objects, movements and details associated with the equestrian world. The collection reworks elements from saddles, bridles, lassoes and horseshoes into high jewellery pieces that reference Hermès’ origins without directly recreating them.
Hermès began as a harness workshop in Paris in 1837, founded by Thierry Hermès, who created saddles and bridles for European nobility. The brand’s relationship with craftsmanship and the equestrian world has remained central to its identity, and Into the Horsescape revisits that heritage through abstraction.
For Hardy, the challenge was not to represent the horse, but to capture its influence. “I implicitly tell Hermès’ story, its relationship with time and materials, before drawing on the imagination to transform them into an adornment,” Hardy says.
That approach shapes the collection’s key pieces. A lasso becomes a necklace of baguette-cut diamonds that curves around the neck. The iron nails used to secure horseshoes are transformed into diamond-set elements. An 18th-century miniature saddle inspires a black titanium bracelet with a smooth, satin-like finish.
The collection also looks at the mechanics of riding equipment. The Attelage d’Or pieces reinterpret bridle and buckle structures through rows of baguette diamonds, while the Clou de Forge Lumière line turns a functional blacksmith’s object into sculptural jewellery.
Other pieces take a different direction. The Apparat set focuses on structure and movement, with articulated rose gold and diamond designs that sit on the body like jewellery armour. Each element is individually crafted to allow the piece to move with the wearer.
The Chevauchée set introduces a more playful interpretation of equestrian culture. Inspired by the American West, the pieces incorporate twisted chains, coloured gemstones and references to cowboy boots, Stetson hats and spur straps.
Beyond the visual references, Hardy’s focus is on how jewellery interacts with the person wearing it.“It’s the broader view that moves me: one’s silhouette, one’s movement, the way one exists within a space, one’s style,” he says.
This focus is also reflected in the technical construction of the pieces. Hidden clasps and articulated structures allow larger designs to sit comfortably on the body while maintaining their sculptural forms.
With Into the Horsescape, Hermès continues to explore its equestrian heritage through design rather than direct symbolism.
