Description

For sale is a Hermès Chaîne d’Ancre bracelet in 18k yellow gold, composed of thirteen polished anchor chain links completed by the maison’s signature toggle clasp. Signed Hermès Paris with French eagle’s head assay marks confirming 18 karat gold throughout, the bracelet weighs 90.7 grams, a substantial and deeply satisfying piece of jewellery that announces itself on the wrist with precisely the right amount of presence. The condition is excellent with minimal signs of wear. This is the large model, in yellow gold, a configuration that is no longer produced, making well-preserved vintage examples increasingly sought after by collectors.

Robert Dumas and the Birth of an Icon

The Chaîne d’Ancre was born in 1938 from a moment of coastal inspiration. Robert Dumas, a member of the Hermès family and its creative director, was aboard a yacht off the Normandy coast when the sight of an anchor chain, its links interlocking with mathematical elegance, each one dependent on the next, struck him as the basis for a piece of jewellery. The design he created, translating the functional geometry of maritime hardware into polished gold, was christened Chaîne d’Ancre: anchor chain.

The idea was both simple and radical. Where most fine jewellery of the era drew on floral, figurative, or classical motifs, the Chaîne d’Ancre was industrial in origin and architectural in execution. Its links are figure-of-eight in form, two oval loops interlocked at ninety degrees to each other, so that each link holds its neighbour in permanent, elegant tension. The result is a bracelet that moves on the wrist with a satisfying, weighted fluidity, the links catching and reflecting light from multiple planes simultaneously.

In the decades that followed, the Chaîne d’Ancre became one of the most recognised and widely copied jewellery designs in the world. It expanded from bracelets into rings, necklaces, and earrings, and eventually became woven into the fabric of the maison’s design language, appearing on silk scarves, leather hardware, and decorative objects. But it is the bracelet, in its original heavy gold form, that remains the definitive expression of the design’s founding idea.

18k Yellow Gold — The Original Material

The Chaîne d’Ancre was conceived in gold and has always been most fully itself in gold. The warmth and weight of 18k yellow gold give the figure-of-eight links a density and luminosity that silver and rose gold, for all their appeal, cannot quite replicate. The polished finish on this example is immaculate, each link catching the light cleanly along its curved surfaces, the reflections shifting as the bracelet moves. At 90.7 grams across thirteen links and 8½ inches in length, this is a bracelet of serious substance: heavy enough to feel on the wrist, light enough to wear all day.

The yellow gold GM (large model) is no longer produced by Hermès. The maison continues the Chaîne d’Ancre in various configurations and metals, but the large-scale yellow gold version has been discontinued, making authenticated vintage examples in excellent condition a genuinely finite resource. Collectors and serious jewellery buyers who missed the opportunity to acquire this bracelet now seek it on the secondary market, where, at this weight and quality, it is rarely available.

The Toggle Clasp

The toggle clasp is an integral part of the Chaîne d’Ancre design rather than an afterthought; the T-bar and ring that close the bracelet are themselves anchor chain links, so the fastening mechanism continues the design’s visual logic without interruption. It is a detail that speaks to the rigour with which Dumas conceived the original: no element of the bracelet breaks the chain.

Specifications

Brand: Hermès

Model: Chaîne d’Ancre – Large Model (GM)

Year: circa 1990s

Material: 18k yellow gold (750)

Links: 13 polished anchor chain links

Link width: approx. 11 mm

Length: 8½ inches (21.5 cm)

Weight: 90.7 grams

Clasp: Hermès toggle clasp (T-bar and ring, integral design)

Hallmarks: Signed Hermès Paris, French eagle’s head assay marks, 18k gold

Condition: Excellent condition with minimal signs of wear

Accessories: Bracelet only (no box or papers)

Collector Appeal

The Hermès Chaîne d’Ancre in 18k yellow gold, large model is among the most collectible pieces of twentieth-century French jewellery, recognised instantly, worn by women of exceptional taste for nearly a century, and now no longer produced in this configuration. A 90.7 gram, 13-link example in excellent condition represents the bracelet at its most assertive and complete.

Availability

This vintage day-date automatic watch is available through Vintage Times Amsterdam.

For further information or high-resolution images, please feel free to contact:

Vintage Times

Vintage Times Amsterdam is a small watch boutique who mainly deals online and with a select group of private collectors. We are constantly looking for rare vintage timepieces and try to present the best condition available. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact for more information about this watch or other timepieces from our collection. We ship worldwide and also welcome you for a visit at our office in Amsterdam.

Vintage Times

email: [email protected]

tel / app: +31 6 4 1111 044