Hermes
Cape Cod Large Size Black Dial - Black Double Tour Strap

Hermès Cape Cod Large Model reference CC2.710, 2019 example, rectangular stainless-steel case measuring approximately 40 × 29 mm and around 7.5 mm thick, architecture inspired by the Chaîne d’Ancre link, lightly satin-finished black dial with characteristic Cape Cod Arabic numerals, luminous baton hands, central seconds, date window at 3 o’clock, sapphire crystal, fluted crown, screw-down steel caseback, original water resistance to 3 ATM or 30 metres, Hermès black leather Double Tour strap with stainless-steel pin buckle, Swiss Made quartz movement, 32,768 Hz electronic oscillator, 3-jewel construction, 2019 pre-owned watch supplied with a luxury Mostra presentation case, inspected, authenticated and covered by Mostra’s 3-year warranty.

“Some watches begin with the movement and are designed around it; others begin with the stroke of a pencil. At Hermès, the Cape Cod unquestionably belongs to the latter family. Half a Chaîne d’Ancre link, a square inside a rectangle, a few numerals and a strap circling the wrist twice were enough to create a watch that can be recognised without even needing to read its name.”

The 2019 Hermès Cape Cod CC2.710 belongs to one of the most distinctive stories in contemporary French watchmaking. When Henri d’Origny designed the Cape Cod in 1991, he did not attempt to reproduce the codes of a traditional watch manufacture. He began with an element already deeply rooted in Hermès heritage: the celebrated Chaîne d’Ancre link, imagined by Robert Dumas in the late 1930s after observing chains and nautical fittings in a harbour. Henri d’Origny mentally divided its geometry, positioned two half-links opposite one another and created a case that became immediately identifiable, simultaneously square and rectangular, rigorous yet sufficiently fluid to engage with leather. The Cape Cod was born, and with it a particularly Hermès way of considering a watch: not as a technical object to which style is subsequently added, but as a personal object whose form, material and use must work together.

The CC2.710 Large Model develops this idea in especially balanced proportions. Its case, approximately 40 mm high and 29 mm wide, gives the watch enough presence to establish itself on the wrist while retaining a slimness many contemporary watches have abandoned. At around 7.5 mm thick, it slides easily beneath a cuff and gives the pleasant impression of an object precisely drawn rather than dimensioned to impress. The Cape Cod has never needed excessive size to be recognisable: its two steel crosspieces, integrated attachments and dial geometry create an identity far stronger than many watches twice its size.

The black dial significantly changes the personality of the reference. Where the traditional silvered or opaline dials emphasise the bright, almost summery character of the Cape Cod, black gives it greater depth and a more graphic elegance. The collection’s distinctive Arabic numerals stand out clearly, baton hands maintain immediate readability and the date at 3 o’clock provides essential everyday information without disturbing the design. Central seconds constantly animate the dark surface and remind us that, beneath its jewellery-like appearance, the Cape Cod remains above all a watch intended to accompany the rhythm of everyday life.

This black configuration works particularly well with the black leather Double Tour strap. The story of the strap is almost as important as that of the case itself. A few years after the creation of the Cape Cod, Hermès extended the leather so that it could circle the wrist twice before reaching the buckle. The gesture may appear simple, yet it completely transforms the object. The watch is no longer merely a dial attached to the wrist; it becomes a composition in which steel and leather create one continuous line. The strap becomes as visible and significant as the case itself, directly reconnecting the watch with Hermès’ historical expertise as a saddler, where the quality of an object is judged as much by the touch of its material as by the precision of its construction.

On this example, the black leather almost seamlessly continues the black dial. The result possesses a particularly contemporary restraint: steel provides structure, black creates depth and the double wrap introduces the stylistic freedom that made the Cape Cod immediately recognisable in both fashion and watchmaking. Worn with a white shirt, dark jacket, knitwear, denim or considerably more casual clothing, it never truly seems to change character. It retains the particular elegance of Hermès creations, where luxury lies less in demonstration than in the correctness of a detail.

It is also a watch that escapes traditional gender classifications remarkably well. Its Large Model format, black dial and Double Tour strap allow it to work on very different wrists. On a masculine wrist it possesses a graphic, almost architectural elegance; on a feminine wrist the double wrap brings it closer to a bracelet or piece of jewellery. This ability to change personality according to the person wearing it is probably one of the Cape Cod’s greatest successes. It does not impose an identity upon its owner: it borrows part of theirs.

The movement selected for this version contributes directly to that philosophy. The CC2.710 is powered by a Swiss Made quartz movement, with an electronic oscillator operating at the classic frequency of 32,768 Hz and a 3-jewel construction. There is therefore no mechanical frequency expressed in vibrations per hour and no power reserve after winding: energy comes from a battery, whose autonomy depends upon capacity and operating conditions. Above all, this architecture allows the watch to remain exceptionally slim, precise and immediately available, three qualities entirely consistent with a timepiece designed to accompany everyday life rather than turn its mechanical operation into a spectacle.

Quartz has a deeper logic here than simply being an economical or technical choice. In a collection containing automatic, hand-wound and vintage watches, the Cape Cod is the piece that can be picked up after several weeks, placed on the wrist and used immediately. No winding, no restarting a stopped mechanism, simply time and date. That availability forms part of the pleasure of ownership and allows the watch to fulfil its purpose perfectly: to remain present without becoming demanding.

The sapphire crystal protects the dial against everyday scratches, while the screw-down back closes a particularly slim architecture. Original water resistance is 3 ATM, or 30 metres. This should be understood as protection against splashes and moisture rather than an invitation to swim. The leather Double Tour strap immediately confirms the watch’s true vocation: Cape Cod belongs to the city, travel and everyday life rather than to the aquatic world. On a pre-owned watch, and particularly one fitted with leather, Mostra naturally recommends avoiding immersion even after the seals have been checked.

The year 2019 places this example at a point when the Cape Cod had long moved beyond its status as an original 1990s creation and had become one of the true watchmaking signatures of Hermès. That longevity matters. Many watches from fashion houses survived only a few seasons before disappearing; Cape Cod did the opposite. Its design remained strong enough to be continually reinterpreted without losing its identity, through different dimensions, dials, straps and movements. Almost thirty years after its introduction, it remained identifiable at first glance, perhaps the best possible definition of a genuine design classic.

This black-dial CC2.710 also possesses a less common personality than the lighter versions of the collection. The contrast between polished steel, dark dial and black leather strengthens its contemporary character and makes daily wear particularly easy. It can become an elegant professional watch, accompany a meeting, journey or dinner and then be worn at the weekend without appearing overly formal. Its design provides enough sophistication to replace a traditional dress watch, while the Double Tour retains enough freedom to avoid stiffness.

The Cape Cod also occupies a distinctive place within a collection of shaped watches. Alongside a Cartier Tank, Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso or Hermès Heure H, it offers a completely different interpretation of the rectangle. The Tank works around its brancards, the Reverso around a rotating case; the Cape Cod uses the vocabulary of the Chaîne d’Ancre and leather to create a geometry belonging only to itself. That originality explains why it remains interesting well beyond the traditional Hermès clientele.

For the collector, part of the appeal also lies in the unusual relationship Hermès has always maintained with time and personal objects. The house began with harnesses and saddles before progressively developing luggage, leather goods, clothing, jewellery and watches. Across these disciplines, one idea often remains constant: create an object that changes through contact with the person using it. Hermès leather gains flexibility and patina, a bag gradually retains the memory of its journeys, and a Cape Cod Double Tour eventually begins to take the shape of the wrist. Within this universe, wearing the watch is almost as important as owning it.

This is why the 2019 black Cape Cod Large Model can also make a particularly relevant first luxury watch. It possesses a strong identity without ostentation, a precise and straightforward movement, a sapphire crystal suited to daily life and a strap whose design alone forms a signature. It can equally join a much larger collection as the complementary piece chosen precisely when one wants to leave behind the familiar codes of the round sporting watch.

The example offered by Mostra is accompanied by a luxury Mostra presentation case. It naturally does not claim to replace an original Hermès box, and that distinction is clearly stated; it simply provides a suitable environment in which to store and transport the watch. With a pre-owned watch without its complete original set, attention consequently returns to the individual piece itself: authenticity of the case, dial, hands and crown, condition of the sapphire crystal, coherence of the strap and quality of movement operation.

Choosing this Hermès Cape Cod CC2.710 from Mostra means benefiting from more than forty years of experience in collectible watches, a highly regarded integrated watchmaking workshop in Aix-en-Provence and one of the largest selections of high-end pre-owned watches in the South of France. Inspecting a quartz watch does not simply mean checking that the hands are moving: movement operation, electrical consumption, date change and setting, crown, dial, hands, crystal, case and strap are examined so that the presentation and actual condition of the individual watch are clearly established.

Mostra’s verified customer reviews carry a 5-star rating, reflecting an approach based upon expertise, transparency and long-term support. This Hermès is supplied with its black leather Double Tour strap, luxury Mostra presentation case, a Mostra Certificate of Authenticity and the Mostra 3-year warranty. Its future owner therefore acquires a Cape Cod built around one of the most successful combinations imagined by the house: steel, black dial and leather wrapping twice around the wrist.

The 2019 Hermès Cape Cod CC2.710 ultimately reminds us that a watch can become iconic without a chronograph, diving bezel or spectacular complication. Sometimes an idea only needs to be sufficiently right for time to do the rest. An anchor chain observed on a quay, a design created decades later, an instantly recognisable case and a leather strap refusing to take the shortest route between two lugs: a deeply Hermès watch, because it transforms an everyday function into an object of style without ever forgetting that elegance often begins with a form nobody had previously thought to draw in quite that way.