Here we have something of a post war oddity. A late 1940s Hermes retailed watch, manufactured for by the renown English watchmaker, Smiths. It has the 31.5mm Dennison ‘Denisteel’ case, with the thin bevelled bezel, flat case top and the dished snap on back. The dial is the silver satin tone with the light linear brushed finish. It has the raised dot hour and minute markers, with the bold Arabic numerals. Below 12 is the ‘Hermes’ signing, with the inset sub-seconds at 6 o’clock. The hands are thermally blued, of index style. To the right is the neat original crown. The case back has the polished finish and inside it is marked with the Dennison ‘Denisteel’ signing with the reference 12323. The movement is the Smiths 12.15, 15 jewel manual wind movement. It has been recently serviced and is keeping reliable time.

Smiths were very open to manufacturing watches for other retailers, with British examples including JW Benson and Thomas Russell & Sons.

Despite this openness, an Anglo-French collaboration represented a forward-thinking approach for the period. Considering this closely followed the end of the second world war, we can imagine Hermes were looking to either expand into the UK market via an English watchmaker or fulfil domestic supply of watches within France.

Only a handful of these watches have come to market. How it came about, one cannot be certain. But we are 100% behind the Hermes X Smiths collaboration!

The dial has the classic Smiths design language of the period, with a little Hermes twist. It has the silver satin tone with the light linear brushing. The minute markers are black dots, with the hour markers being larger, raised dots. The hour markers are of an interesting, sharp font in the black tone. The dial is signed ‘Hermes’ below 12 o’clock in a bold font, whilst the sub-second dial sits at 6 o’clock. It has the dash markers for the five second graduations, with the centre section being inset into the dial, with grained concentric circles. This adds a pleasing depth and texture to the dial. The hour and minute hand are of a classic Index style, in the thermally blued tone. The sub-second hand is original with the lollipop counterbalance.

The case is neatly proportioned, measuring 31.25mm x 31.35mm. The lugs add presence, taking the total length to 38.25mm. It has a shallow depth, below 10m, with a classic 16mm lug width.
The British made Dennison ‘Denisteel’ case is formed of Stainless Steel and has the three-piece construction. It has the strong fixed bar lugs. The bezel snaps on to the front, with the solid centre section and snap-on back. The bezel is thin, holding the low-profile domed crystal. It has the polished finish with the bevel which slopes towards the main body of the case. The top of the case has the flat, circular profile with the subtle brushed finish. The tapered lugs angle down from this with the curved profile meeting the wrist. There is a recess to the right-hand side, which the crown sits neatly within. The crown has the knurled edge with the polished face.

The sides of the case are flat, with the rear of the case being flat, apart from the lug curvature. The case serial is stamped beneath the top left lug, which matches in serial inside. The snap-on case back has the polished finish, which is free of engraving. Inside the case is signed with the reference ‘12323’. The Dennison ‘Made in England’ stamping sits under this, with the further ‘Denisteel’ branding to the bottom.

The movement is the Smiths calibre 12.15. It is a reliable and accurate 15 jewel manual wind movement, Made in England. It is marked as a C series movement, number 32656 which is circa 1947/48, within the first year or two of post war production. It has been recently serviced and is keeping accurate time to within +10 seconds variation a day.

The watch is modelled on a 7” wrist circumference.
Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
A further condition report is below.

Dial:
The dial is in strong condition but does have signs of ageing. It has light scratching and some discolouration to the surface. There is a darkened spot next to 7 o’clock. There is a raised dent to the dial between 10 and 11 o’clock. The signing is good and clear.

Hands:
The hands are all original and are in good condition. There is some slight corrosion to the thermally blued finishing. They are free of bending and have a bright blued shine.

Glass:
The acyclic crystal is a modern replacement which is in very good condition with no marking.

Crown:
The crown is original and is in good condition winding and setting as it should.

Case:
The case is made of Stainless Steel and is in good original unpolished condition. The original brushed and polished finishes remain. There are some light nicks to the edges of the flat top.

Caseback:
The case back is in good condition with only light surface scratching.

Strap:
The watch is on a vintage style metal fold over tab strap for the fixed lugs.

Movement:
The movement is the Smiths calibre 12.15. It is a reliable and accurate 15 jewel manual wind movement, Made in England.

It has been recently serviced and is keeping accurate time to within + 10 seconds a day, with an amplitude of 270 degrees and a beat error of 0.1m/s.

Case dimensions
Case width: 31.25mm
Case width with crown: 32.75mm
Case length: 31.35mm
Case length lug to lug: 38.25mm
Case depth: 9.25mm
Lug width: 16mm