Hermes Cleopatra Eye Gilt Magnifier

Hermes reimagined the desk magnifier through the house's Cleopatras Eye motif, using the almond shape of a stylized eye as the outline for the lens rather than a conventional round or oval frame. The gold-plated body traces that shape precisely, with the glass magnifier set into the pupil of the design so the whole piece reads as a single graphic gesture rather than a tool with decoration added on.

The magnifying glass itself is a genuine optical lens, giving the piece real function alongside its sculptural profile, and the smooth gold-plated finish is substantial enough to sit flat and steady on a desk when in use. It is a piece built to be picked up and handled, not just displayed.

This example retains its original Hermes presentation box, stamped with the Faubourg Saint Honore address. Inside the lid is a mark for the Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris, one of France's major deposit banks, founded in Paris in 1848. The bank merged in 1966 to form the Banque Nationale de Paris, the predecessor of today's BNP Paribas, so the mark likely places this piece before that date and suggests it was presented as a corporate gift. It adds a genuine layer of provenance beyond the object itself.

Made in France, it measures 4 x 2 3/4 inches and works equally well as a functioning magnifier for reading fine print or as a striking piece of design sitting on a desk or vanity tray. The Cleopatras Eye motif has become one of Hermes's more collected desk accessory designs, and pieces with the original box like this one are increasingly hard to find complete.