Watches and Wonders 2024: Van Cleef & Arpels Novelties Conjure up a Mesmerising Dreamscape

Exhibiting at Watches and Wonders 2024, Van Cleef & Arpels pays homage to the expertise of its workshops. Blending tradition with innovation is at the heart of the Maison’s savoir-faire, which in turn is reflected by the ingenuity of its craftsmen. In keeping with the brand’s Poetry of Time philosophy, two new watches have been added to the Poetic Complications collection: Lady Jour Nuit and Lady Arpels Jour Nuit. The Maison’s garden has been enriched with the new Lady Arpels Brise d’Été watch. The enchanting Extraordinary Dials collection has also introduced the Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté and Lady Arpels Nuit Enchantée creations. And, in line with the Van Cleef & Arpels tradition of creating precious objects, two original automatons Apparition des Baies and Bouton d’Or round out the novelties. 

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GMT India takes a deep dive into the latest launches. 

Poetic Complications 

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Van Cleef & Arpels’ Poetic Complications timepieces are driven by the complication modeuls developed in-house for many years by the Maison’s Watchmaking Workshops in Geneva. Fusing technical expertise with artistry, the two new timepieces feature automaton movements with on-demand animation or day/night display modules that capture the poetry in every moment. 

These self-winding “on-demand” movements enable users to enliven the dial like an automaton with the push of a button, as per the wearer's desires. 

Lady Arpels Jour Nuit Watch

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The timepiece is housed in a 38 mm white gold case adorned with diamonds. The dial is crafted in aventurine glass, mother-of-pearl, white gold, yellow gold, diamonds, and yellow sapphires – all presenting a poetic symphony on the wrist. The diamond-paved moon and stars seem to be perpetually pursuing the sun, embellished with snow-set yellow sapphires.

Lady Jour Nuit Watch

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The 33 mm case crafted in white gold dazzles us with diamonds. The dial features a medley of aventurine glass, mother-of-pearl, white gold, yellow gold, and diamonds. The sun is made of guilloché yellow gold.

Lady Arpels Brise d’Été Watch

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A verdant tribute to nature, this timepiece brings corollas into bloom within the Van Cleef & Arpels’ garden. The butterflies – crafted from white and yellow gold, and rendered in plique-à-jour enamel – can not only tell the time but can also flutter off with the help of an on-demand animation module. This automaton also breathes life into the flowers and their stems. 

The corollas are captivating with azure nuances, thanks to the vallonné. This creates a visual harmony with the spessartite garnet pistils. When the animation comes to an end, the two butterflies adorning the Lady Arpels Brise d’Été watch return to their initial position indicating the time. 

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Extraordinary Dials Collection

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An amalgamation of métiers d'art and the Maison’s jewellery and horological prowess, the collection features two new limited-edition and numbered watches designed as miniature works of art: Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté and Lady Arpels Nuit Enchantée

Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté Watch

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This timepiece depicts a graceful silhouette picking flowers at dawn. The early morning sunlight travels through generous leaves of white gold, plique-à-jour enamel and diamonds in a field of flowers. Decked with yellow sapphires, these blossoms are rendered in relief by a new technique developed by Van Cleef & Arpels. This façonné enamel technique creates the illusion of a boundless flowerbed. The background features a turquoise sky with the sun gleaming. 

Lady Arpels Nuit Enchantée Watch

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The timepiece depicts a scene ​​upon a moon-kissed flowerbed where a fairy rests her delicate frame inside a cave of sparkling crystals. The sapphires have pink and purple hues, and their fancy-cut nuances make it seem as if they are cut from the cave walls. The moon-lit glow and twinkling stars make up the sky ― the grisaille enamel technique has been used for this. The fairy’s wings show off plique-à-jour enamel with a pearlescent effect, while the façonné enamel gives shape to the yellow sapphire-set flowers. A rock crystal, set with rose gold hour markers, serves as the dial.

Extraordinary Objects Collection

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At W&W 2024, the Maison has unveiled two original automatons inspired by nature in motion and flora. In other words, the Apparition des Baies and Bouton d’Or automatons pay homage to the marvel of flora and fauna. Here, Van Cleef & Arpels creates a dreamscape that unfurls like a bouquet, revealing a bird or a ballerina-like fairy. Accompanying each automaton is a specially-composed crystalline melody. These table ornaments are created in partnership with François Junod, an automaton maker based in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland.

Apparition des Baies Automaton 

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The lacquered rose-gold leaves of the Apparition des Baies automaton are folded onto themselves, forming a lush dome that conceals a secret. Gradually, the bouquet opens like a delicate blooming, uncovering a white-gold, diamond, and sapphire bird spreading its wings with lifelike movements. After taking flight, the bird finds refuge within the object and the leaves gently fold back. A new rotating system to open and close the bouquet was developed in-house at the Van Cleef & Arpels' Workshops and then placed upon a mechanism designed by François Junod. This structure is composed of 112 overlapping and intertwined leaves for a volume effect.

Bouton d’Or Automaton

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Honouring the eponymous jewellery collection by the Maison, this automaton reinterprets the soft contours of a motif known as “paillette”, created by Van Cleef & Arpels in the mid-1930s. The automaton features a fairy with her face suggested by a rose-cut diamond, crowned with diamonds, and clad in a flamboyant rose-gold gown trimmed with blue lacquer. She is seen pirouetting upon a flowerbed. The beating of her plique-à-jour enamel wings allow her to twirl, delicately clasping a briolette-cut sapphire between her fingers.