It’s the Year of the Horse, and I’m a horse baby (1990), so let’s trot into one of my fav niche horological categories: equestrian-inspired watches.
It should come as no surprise that the watch world and the horse world are intertwined. At the center of that Venn diagram is precision, specialty, craftsmanship, country-club vibes, wealth…
Depending on which competitive horse event you attend, you’re likely to see the Longines or Rolex logos decorating the ring (Longines has been officially partnering with an array of equestrian events since 1912, with Rolex close behind, counting 70 years of involvement and their 2013 founding of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping). Side note: Mary-Kate Olsen wears a Rolex ‘Presidential’ Day-Date when she rides.
Then there are brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre, whose iconic Reverso was created in 1931 for polo players looking to check the time on horseback without damaging their watch (hence the swiveling case, with a watch on one side and durable steel on the “reverse” side). And one cannot talk horses without Hermès, which started as a Parisian horse harness workshop in 1837, long before the Birkin.
Over the years, there have emerged some beautiful watches from a variety of brands suitable for any horse girl, which I’ve linked to below. But first, a look into one of my all-time favorite watches: La Galop by Hermès.
A CONVERSATION WITH INI ARCHIBONG, DESIGNER OF THE GALOP D’HERMÈS WATCH
I introduced myself to Ini Archibong in 2022 at the Swiss Institute Gala because he was wearing an F.P. Journe…
He was visiting New York from Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where he settled down after earning a master’s degree in luxury design and craftsmanship from the prestigious École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL) in 2015. A mere month after graduation, Archibong sent a cold email to Philippe Delholtal, Creative Director at Hermès Horloger, which led to a meeting.
“Technically I’m not a watch designer,” says Archibong, originally from Pasadena, who has created objects for clients ranging from Knoll to Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. “I’m a watch fan who used my design skills to get me access into the watch world.”
That meeting with Philippe Delholtal led to a design brief. What Hermès was looking for was a new flagship ladies watch. “It was the scariest brief ever,” says Archibong with a laugh. “Like, ‘Congratulations on graduating school last month! We need a new icon.’”
“I started by doing a deep dive into what constitutes the ‘new’ Hermès woman,” says Archibong. “I was filling folders with editorial images of fashionable women from different countries, and the through line was that the women were always moving. So I started thinking about motion.” MOTION!
Archibong presented seven watch designs to the team, nearly landing on the one. “But then Pierre-Alexis Dumas [the current artistic director at Hermès] said, ‘He’s missing something,’ and that’s when I started making my trips to Paris to sit with the historian, who took me through Hermès as the harness maker. That’s how the Galop really started.”
As 19th century carriages evolved from large, slow processions with multiple horses to shorter, faster more cosmopolitan models, “Hermès started to flourish. Their sleekly designed harnesses mirrored the sinews of the horses muscles. Then it all started coming together. I was like, ‘Okay, this needs to be a fast watch for women on the go, with clean, beautiful lines’” evoking those initial harnesses.
Archibong then spent time in the office of the late Émile Hermès [the former president of Hermès], filled with items he’d collected from his world travels. “He had stirrups from every culture, from different eras. They would all be decorated differently, made out of different materials, but they all had that same silhouette.” It was this shape that became the basis for the Galop.
“Every culture can relate to a moment when their ancestors got on a horse with stirrups,” says Archibong. “So I simplified the silhouette to be universally appealing.” And the result was the Galop. Fast, elegant, legible.
The dials are composed of different textures, including graining and opaline gloss, topped with numerals rendered in a typography that Archibong designed with fellow ECAL-alum Vincent Sauvaire (“Fun fact: the way the dial is laid out, you don’t have to stop walking when you read the watch. You can just tilt it towards you and read it while moving”).
The final Galop d’Hermes collection debuted in 2019 with variations in different metals (steel or gold, gem-set or not) and size (small or medium), all completed with a beautiful, buttery Hermès leather strap and equine buckle.
My favorite is the plain steel version (no diamonds, no mother of pearl dial). This costs around $4K but always seems to sell out on the Hermès website, so here’s one pre-owned from The Real Real. I need this in my stable…
+ MY FAV HORSE WATCHES AVAILABLE FOR SALE
$5K+
1970s Chopard Stirrup Watch - $5,390.00
Ulysse Nardin Horse Watch - $23,800.00
Vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso - $7,995.00
HORSESHOE WATCHES
LA Apparel Horseshoe Watch - $28.00
Art Deco Girard-Perregaux Horseshoe Watch - $550.00
Vintage Coach Horsehoe Watch - $75.00
Vintage Wrangler Horseshoe Watch - $32.00
INSPIRED BY HORSE EQUIPMENT
Ralph Lauren Stirrup Petite - $2750.00
Vintage Gucci Horsebit Watch - $564.80
Vintage Gucci Horsebit Watch - $199.90
Vintage Gucci Signoria Watch - $550.00
Longines Equestrian Watch - $807.60
AND SOME SUPER FUN ONES
Vintage Navajo Sterling Silver Horse Watch - $459.99
‘Your Text Here’ Horse Watch - $39.49
PLUS, TWO REAL-LIFE HORSE GIRLS AND THE WATCHES THEY DO (OR DON’T) WEAR WHILE RIDING
Danielle Prescod, Author
“I used to wear my watch when I went riding, but I don’t anymore. I fell with it on (twice in one lesson actually) and it popped off in the dirt and that was enough to scare me into never doing that again. It did not crack, however, which is really good because that was also a fear. The bracelet opened and it slid off. After that, I switched to wearing my Apple Watch for riding so I could cheat with my step count, but now that’s so old that it doesn’t really work anymore so I don’t wear anything. :)
To be honest, it was a risky choice anyway, even without the fall. Horses like shiny things. I once had a horse bite off a diamond bracelet and then I lost that too. A lot of them try to nibble at anything that sparkles. It’s not that I am intentionally trying to be flashy while at the barn, either. It’s more that I am chronically lazy and things that I wear everyday, I don’t take off just because I am riding. Now I do though.”
Jackie Skye Muller, Founder, Recreational Habits
“The few times I have worn a watch when in the saddle was during Fox Hunting or when going out on the trail without my phone - strictly to keep time! I’ll wear my Tank Normale which feels like second skin at this point and tucks well under my gloves. There’s always the chance of damaging your watch, or worse, getting hooked into your tack somehow, but thankfully I haven’t experienced any horological injuries at this point. Personally, I’ve decided that mucking stalls with a wrist watch is a risk I do not need to take.
Out of the barn, I’m currently collecting vintage Omega Constellation watches. I like to discover them when I travel and it’s been a fun reason to stop by antique shops when I’m abroad.”
Oh, that Vintage Gucci Signoria has something about it. Adding that to the vision board. Great piece, as usual!
I do love all of this