After moving to Paris, he founded Hermès in 1837, which was originally a horse harness factory located in the Parisian neighborhood known as Grands Boulevards.

[9] The quality and beauty of Hermès bridles and harnesses were unrivalled for the Parisian beau monde who relied on equipage for travel[10] and among the clients were the Emperor of the French himself, Napoleon III and his spouse, Eugénie de Montijo.

[11] The business he had established would, under his successors, in the generations that followed, evolve from harness and saddles to trunks, handbags, zippers, etc, the Hermès brand is now reputed for.

[16][17] Charles-Émile had two sons of his own, Adolphe and Émile-Maurice, who were involved in the family business building elite clientele in Europe, America, North Africa and Asia.

[20] Émile-Maurice noticed the demand for saddlery, leading him to steer Hermès towards the making of "saddle-stitched" leather goods and trunks for the customers who traveled by car, train or ship.

[32] Today, Hermès features products like charms (starting at $40) and an oversize panda-bear bean-bag made of Clémnce bull-calf leather (most expensive at $100,000).