Cape Cod's latest watch features silicon wafers.

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With its iconic scarves often serving as inspiration for its watch dials, Hermès is known for producing exquisitely designed watches. For instance, this exquisite marquetry example recreates a design originally seen on the company's neckwear, designed by British artist Alice Shirley, using 195 pieces of wood. Silk threads were used in another case to make a colorful dial for a toucan.

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A silicon wafer used in microelectronic semiconductors inspired the French house's Cape Cod model this time.

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A single 0.5mm-thick plate was coated with just 72 nanometers of silicon nitride to produce an intense blue color on the new Crépuscule Cape Cod ($7,270) graphic dial, which is being released this summer. In order to create the motif depicting the sun's golden rays sweeping over the blue water at sunset, the image was exposed to blue light via a photolithography process designed by artist Thanh-Phong Le. Before being coated in gold and cut to fit within the 29 mm case, the plate was dipped in several baths to remove any extra material.

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In collaboration with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology in Neuchâtel, the process was developed. To create a serene wave-like pattern, engineers found a way to control how much material was deposited in the wafers during production in order to create different hues.

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Hermès has created a piece of art that is surprisingly beautiful and unexpected. Bravo for thinking outside of the box.