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The Complications Poétiques collection: a blend of emotion and technology
Perpetuating a poetic vision of life, Van Cleef & Arpels explores an exclusive dimension in the art of watchmaking: an element of dream and emotion. The wonders of time-telling technology, engineered in its Swiss watchmaking workshops, compose the stories told on the dial.
In 2006, to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, Van Cleef & Arpels designed an original watch that portrays the cycle of the seasons as time ticks by. Thus was born Complications Poétiques, a collection embodying a new vision of watchmaking. Within each creation, technical prowess goes hand in hand with a quest for creativity and enchantment. 24-Hour, Quantième de saison, Retrograde, Planetarium or five-minute repeater movements tell the time through tableaux representing a stroll through Paris, a star-studded sky or a planetary ballet, fluttering butterflies or a romantic rendezvous. These masterful mechanisms offer precious moments of emotion, reflecting the Poetry of Time dear to Van Cleef & Arpels.
24-Hour movement: a full day of poetry
This self-winding mechanical movement, featuring a 24-hour module developed exclusively for Van Cleef & Arpels, gradually transforms the decor on the dial throughout the day. Van Cleef & Arpels uses this technology to breathe life into daylong narratives such as the cycle of the Sun and Moon in the Jour Nuit watch, or a joyful promenade in the Une Journée à Paris model.
Retrograde movement: a graphic portrait of hours and minutes
On watches designed with retrograde animation, the hands do not turn on an axis, but rather move along a circular arc before returning to their initial position, ready to begin another cycle. Built with a retrograde module, this manual-winding mechanical movement animates figurative motifs such as a fairy’s magic wand, two lovers meeting on a bridge, or a butterfly dancing around a tree.
Planetarium movement: celestial ballet
Highly complex, this self-winding mechanical movement, designed with a module developed exclusively for Van Cleef & Arpels, animates the Lady Arpels and Midnight Planétarium watches. It serves a number of different functions, starting with a miniature depiction of planets revolving around the Sun. The heavenly bodies rotate on successive discs, reflecting their actual pace in the solar system. To complement this astral ballet, a shooting star sweeps across the dial, indicating the time.
Assembly of the aventurine discs on the movement, Lady Arpels Planétarium watch, Poetic Complications collection.
Assembly of the oscillating weight on the movement, Midnight Planétarium watch, Poetic Complications collection
Assembly of the aventurine discs on the movement, Lady Arpels Planétarium watch, Poetic Complications collection
View of the different elements constituting the watch, Lady Arpels Planétarium watch, Poetic Complications collection
Close-up on the Midnight Planétarium dial, Midnight Planetarium watch, Poetic Complications collection