Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier watch, 18K rose gold, rhodium plated 18K white gold, white and yellow diamonds, pink sapphires, white mother-of-pearl, miniature painting, self-winding mechanical movement equipped with a flower-opening module for the hours and lateral minutes display. Watch sold with two interchangeable straps and one interchangeable pin buckle set with diamonds. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

A journey through the Poetry of Time™

From 26 May 2024 to 9 June 2024
London, United Kingdom

Cromwell Place

 

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.

Lady Arpels Heures Florales watch. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Technique at the service of narration

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

Lady Arpels Heures Florales watch, rhodium plated 18K white gold, 18K rose gold, white and yellow diamonds, white mother-of-pearl, miniature painting, self-winding mechanical movement equipped with a flower-opening module for the hours and lateral minutes display. Watch sold with two interchangeable straps and one interchangeable pin buckle set with diamonds. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

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."

Nicolas Bos, 2022 — Former President of Van Cleef & Arpels

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.

    Lady Arpels Heures Florales® Cerisier watch. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

    Positioning a flower petal on the dial of the

    Lady Arpels Heures Florales® Cerisier watch

    Lady Arpels Papillon Automate watch, Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

    A world of poetry awakens under the glass of the

    Lady Arpels Papillon Automate watch

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.

    Éveil du Cyclamen automaton, 18K rose gold, 18K yellow gold, rhodium plated 18K white gold, emeralds, pink sapphire, diamonds, green aventurine, purple jade, lapis lazuli, plique-à-jour enamel, lacquer, black ebony, aluminum, steel, goat leather, automaton and mechanical movements, 12-hour function on a 360-degree rotating ring, on-demand animation and carillon. Extraordinary Objects Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Éveil du Cyclamen automaton, Extraordinary Objects Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Éveil du Cyclamen automaton, Extraordinary Objects Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Éveil du Cyclamen automaton, Extraordinary Objects Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Éveil du Cyclamen automaton, Extraordinary Objects Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Éveil du Cyclamen automaton, Extraordinary Objects Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Poetic Astronomy

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. 

    Lady Arpels Planétarium watch. Rhodium plated 18K white gold, 18K rose gold, diamonds, aventurine, pink mother-of-pearl, enamel, turquoise, automatic mechanical movement, planetarium. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Ballet of the planets
Lady Arpels Planétarium watch, Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Lady Arpels Planétarium watch, Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Lady Arpels Planétarium watch, Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Fairies and ballerinas

Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée Or Rose watch, 18K rose gold, rhodium plated 18K white gold, diamonds, enamel, self-winding mechanical movement equipped with a retrograde time on demand module. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

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

Midnight Pont des Amoureux watch, rhodium plated 18K white gold, enamel, self-winding mechanical movement, retrograde and on-demand animation. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

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.

Press and Hold
    Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux watch. Rhodium plated 18K white gold, diamonds, enamel, self-winding mechanical movement, retrograde and on-demand animation. Poetic Complications Collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Couture

Ludo Secret watch, 18K rose gold, pink sapphires, guilloché white mother-of-pearl, Swiss quartz movement. Couture collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

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

Perlée watch, 23-mm case in 18K yellow gold, guilloché white mother-of pearl, bracelet in 18K yellow gold, guilloché white mother-of-pearl, Swiss quartz movement. Perlée collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

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.

    Perlée Toi & Moi secret watch, small model, 25-mm case in 18K yellow gold, diamonds, white mother-of-pearl dial, bacelet in 18K yellow gold, diamonds, turquoise, Swiss quartz movement. Perlée collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Perlée Toi & Moi secret watch. Perlée collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Perlée Toi & Moi secret watch. Perlée collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.
Perlée Toi & Moi secret watch. Perlée collection, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Watchmaking according to Van Cleef & Arpels since 1906

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

Location

Cromwell Place

4, Cromwell Place, South Kensington

London SW7 2JE


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Opening hours

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

Entrance fee

Free admission to the exhibition upon reservation.

Guided tours are available in English, upon reservation as well.


Talks and workshops

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