Hermes: Where the luxury giant is an industry outsider

Hermes may be a big cheese in the world of luxury goods, but in the world of Swiss watchmaking it is something of an outsider.

First, it is French. Second, it's a relative newcomer. Third, the bulk of its watches are aimed at women in a still male-dominated industry.

Hermes is at this week's Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) watch fair in Geneva, where the display cabinets are weighed down with chunky timepieces as complicated as a Ferrari car (but frequently cost more).

"We are one of the challengers to an industry that is 300 years old," says Laurent Dordet, who heads the watch division, La Montre Hermes. He knows there's a lot of work to do "to become legitimate and accepted".

It helps being at this week's annual watch event, an invitation-only affair where Switzerland's most exclusive brands and artisan workshops unveil their latest products.

Paris-based Hermes is allowed in because it makes its watches in Switzerland. The listed, but still family-owned company, better known for its leather and silk products, got into ladies' watches about four decades ago, and men's in 2012.

But it is only in recent years that it became a more serious player, investing heavily to buy up Swiss component makers.