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From May 26 to June 9, 2024
Van Cleef & Arpels is celebrating its vision of Poetry of Time with a unique exhibition in London. Contemporary watch creations and pieces from the Maison’s patrimonial Collection are highlighted within a scenery recreating an enchanted forest.
A Living Heritage company, Van Cleef & Arpels displays its jewelry-making and watchmaking know-how. At the crossroads of tradition and innovation, expert watchmakers, métiers d’art craftsmen, jewelers, and automaton makers combine their expertise to give rise to a collective work. The Maison also excels in the development of over fifteen enameling techniques to create decors of singular vivacity.
Enchanted Nature
A cherished inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels since its foundation, nature infuses poetry and vitality into its watch dials. Captivated by the constant metamorphoses of flora and fauna, the Maison portrays spring in full bloom, the lushness of gardens, or the flutter of a butterfly’s wings.
"The Heures Florales project was born out of the encounter between a very great botanist and a rather unusual watchmaker."
Awarded at the 2022 edition of the Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie de Genève, the Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier creation draws its inspiration from Carl von Linné's floral clock concept. In his 1751 book Philosophia Botanica, the Swedish botanist evokes a garden plan whose flowers open and close at specific moments of the day. Van Cleef & Arpels has taken up this principle to design a three-dimensional dial. To find out what time it is, one must count the open flowers...
On the Lady Arpels Papillon Automate watch, the butterfly's wings liven up along with the movements of its wearer. The creature is nested in a verdant backdrop combining several enameling techniques with the shimmer of precious stones.
In keeping with the precious objects created by the Maison since 1906, the Extraordinary Objects combine the reading of time with a spellbinding spectacle. The Éveil du Cyclamen automaton invites to a gentle contemplation: in the heart of a bouquet, a butterfly appears to gracefully flap its wings. The creature shows Van Cleef & Arpels' High Jewelry know-how as special attention was given to the interplay between diamonds, emeralds, lapis lazuli, and plique-à-jour enamel that adorn it, mimicking the shimmering look of a real butterfly.
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Poetic Astronomy
Starry night, Zodiac constellations, ballet of the planets... Representations of the sky have been constant throughout the history of Van Cleef & Arpels. A source of dreams and escape, over the decades this theme has shone in creations – jewelry, watches, and precious objects – highlighting the diversity of materials and techniques that unite to offer a captivating interpretation of the spectacle of the stars.
The Lady Arpels Jour Nuit and Lady Arpels Planétarium watches evoke the magic of a starry night. The former symbolizes the horizon behind which the trajectories of the Sun and the Moon are displayed while the latter recreates on the wrist the dance of the Sun and its neighboring planets. Adorned with precious and ornamental stones, the ensemble moves at its actual rhythm in space.
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Fairies and ballerinas
Symbols of joy and hope, fairies and ballerinas have been the Maison's emblematic feminines figures since the early 1940s. Born from Louis Arpels’ passion for ballet, the first dancer clips immediately enthralled collectors with the elegance of their attitudes and the beauty of their attire. Likewise, the Maison’s fairies are distinctive for their winged silhouettes, sometimes embellished with a magic wand. To this day, they adorn several Van Cleef & Arpels watches, like muses guarding the passage of time.
The Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée and Lady Féerie Or rose pieces display a ballerina and a fairy against a tender backdrop. The former, adorned with gold, sapphires and diamonds, turns into a butterfly, while the latter in a precious gown points to the minutes with her magic wand.
The champlevé, plique-à-jour and opaque enamel techniques create an interplay of shades and depth on their silhouette. The dial, with a radiating guilloché motif, livens up thanks to a retrograde movement.
Love
Born out of the union of Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels, the Maison has accompanied the expression of feelings since its creation. As if heralding its destiny, the first piece recorded in the sales book in 1906 was a heart set with diamonds. To this day, love infuses the Poetry of Time with its rhythm and offers a vision of watchmaking imbued with emotions...
A watchmaking signature of Van Cleef & Arpels since 2010, the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux watch features a tender reunion. In a decor that recalls Parisian streets, two lovers move towards each other throughout the day to share a kiss at noon and midnight. The timepiece is revealed in new versions, depicting the kiss in daytime, nighttime and seasonal variations. To transcribe the colors of nature, the Maison calls on different métiers d'art such as grisaille enamel.
Couture
Founded at Place Vendôme in Paris, the Maison draws inspiration from the universe of couture like a tribute to its birthplace. Golden lace, sparkling bows and tassels made of precious stones celebrate this world capital of elegance. Remarkable for their fluid forms, certain creations echo the delicacy of ribbons or the fluidity of fabric.
The Ludo Secret watch celebrates the timeless elegance of one of Van Cleef & Arpels’ signature pieces: the Ludo bracelet. Created in 1934, this aesthetic evoking the shape of a belt bears the nickname of Louis Arpels, one of the Maison’s founding members. On this timepiece, rose gold mingles with pink sapphires, meticulously selected and set in keeping with the Maison's tradition of excellence. Perpetuating Van Cleef & Arpels’ tradition of secret watches since the 1920s, the watch reveals its dial in guilloché white mother-of-pearl at the simultaneous pressure on the two sapphire motifs.
Golden bead
An emblematic motif reflecting the Maison’s creative spirit, the golden bead has enlivened Van Cleef & Arpels’ jewelry and watch creations since the 1920s. Central features on pieces like Couscous and Bagatelle in 1948, it now illuminates the Perlée collection with interplays of light.
Combining watchmaking savoir-faire and jewelry inspiration, the Perlée watch is adorned with soft and shimmering golden beads. The radiance of yellow gold meets guilloché white mother-of-pearl's sheen that illuminates the dial. The Perlée Toi & Moi watchmaking variations offer a colorful interpretation of jewels that tell time. They display a tête-à-tête between two motifs that sparks a joyful contrast. The dial lies behind one of them, expressing the sparkling spirit of the collection.
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Watchmaking according to Van Cleef & Arpels since 1906
The first timepieces appeared in the Maison's sales records from its foundation in 1906. Fashionable at that time, jewelry watches such as pendants hiding a dial on the reverse and lapel watches, worn on a jacket or a bodice, gradually gave way to more practical wristwatches. The 1930s thus saw the development of the Cadenas watch and the Ludo models.
Practical information
From May 26th to June 9th, 2024
Tuesday - Saturday
From 11:00 am to 06:00 pm
Sunday
From 11:00 am to 04:00 pm
Free admission to the exhibition upon reservation.
Guided tours are available in English, upon reservation as well.
Talks and children workshops organized by L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels
Enamel demonstrations by the craftsmen of Van Cleef & Arpels' Watchmaking Workshops in Geneva