What Ardoise looks like
Ardoise is a dark slate gray — cooler than Graphite, lighter than Noir, and without the blue that shows up in Bleu Indigo.
The closest colors in the Hermès range are Graphite, Caban, Bleu Indigo, and Raisin. All four are very dark — they separate by undertone more than by lightness. Graphite is warmer and browner, Caban is near-black, Bleu Indigo is blue-black, and Raisin has a plum cast.
On grained leathers like Clémence and Togo, Ardoise looks matte and slightly softer because the texture absorbs light. On smooth leathers like Swift and Evercolor, it appears cooler and more uniform, and can pick up a faint blue-gray sheen depending on the angle.
Closest colors to Ardoise
These six Hermès colors look the most like Ardoise. Click any card to open a side-by-side comparison.
A dark brownish gray. Warmer and slightly lighter than Ardoise, with no blue in it.
Graphite is warmer and pulls brown. Ardoise is cooler and sits closer to slate. In low light the two can look similar, but side by side Graphite is noticeably warmer.
A very dark charcoal that looks almost black in low light. Cooler than Noir but not quite navy.
Caban is darker and more saturated. Ardoise has more visible gray — it is obviously not black, where Caban can pass for it.
A deep dark blue. In person it can look black with a blue sheen, especially on smooth leathers.
Bleu Indigo is clearly blue under direct light; Ardoise stays gray. Both are dark enough to pair with most colors, but Bleu Indigo always has a blue tint where Ardoise does not.
Where we've seen Ardoise on Hermès
We have tracked over 15 bag models in Ardoise across 15 countries. The Picotin Lock 18 appears most often, followed by the Evelyne III 29, Bolide 1923 mini, and the Lindy in multiple sizes. Shoulder bags and small totes make up the majority, but clutches like the Jige Élan 29 and the Roulis mini have also appeared.
Availability and alert activity
We first saw Ardoise on hermes.com in October 2024. Since then it has appeared in 15 countries and restocked regularly. The charts below show how many alerts went out each month and where.
Monthly alert activity
Top countries so far
Ardoise by leather
4 leathers with preowned examples so far. Each leather shifts whether Ardoise looks warm or cool, matte or reflective.
Preowned market snapshot
Currently 60 listings available and 199 sold across the resale sites we track.
Current listings are concentrated on The RealReal, Madison Avenue Couture, Vestiaire Collective, Ginza Xiaoma, Fashionphile.