As the Hermès group is a fount of traditional artisanal knowledge in numerous fields from leather-working and silk-screening to silversmithing, this time its watchmaking arm decided to turn to Cristalleries Royales de Saint-Louis (Saint-Louis Royal Crystal-Works), a 100 per cent Hermès-owned affiliate company based in Lorraine in northeastern France, to help it create a series of wristwatches and pocket watches embellished with unconventional crystal dials and covers inspired by 19th-century paperweights – a signature Saint-Louis product.…