Horological Meandering

foversta
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A journey into Van Cleef & Arpels world

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to attend an event organized by Van Cleef & Arpels to present us the latest novelties from the brand and the partnership with the famous AD in Paris: Chronopassion. The owner of Chronopassion, Laurent Picciotto became a « Time Ambassafor » in a movie created   for a specific website in which he gives his own feelings about the Van Cleef & Arpels complicated watches.

I was expecting a lot from this event because I missed the presentation during the SIHH. I regretted it because one of the Van Cleef watches, the « Pont des Amoureux » (Lovers' Bridge) was warmly welcome by all the SIHH participants.

I was not disappointed and I would like with this report to make you understand how Van Cleef & Arpels is currently redefining the lady's complicated watches.

The key idea underlined by Van cleef is that women don't have the same relationship with time than men.

Men love accuracy, love complicated watches because complications, even if they are not useful enhance the technical side of the watches.

If you wish to create a lady's watch with this idea in mind, it won't work.

Women don't expect the same from the watch: first of all, they are maybe more afraid than men of the sands of time... secondly, they don't want to wear a complicated watch because it is something... complicated. So Van Cleef & Arpels,  with the « Poetry of Time » line, created watches in which the complications bring a new relationship with time. Some will display the time with an original way, some will have the feeling to have a slow flow of time, some will point out a specific function like the night & day indicator.

Of course, these complications would not have been so poetic if the horological contents of the watches were not at a top level: I would say here that Poetry and not the Devil is in the details...

Van Cleef & Arpels takes advantage of its presence within the Richemont Group: the use of JLC calibers is a proof of this asset. But it is not enough. For some of its complications, Van Cleef & Arpels  appealed to one of the most innovative  watchmakers: Jean-Marc Wiederrecht. He is not only a very gifted watchmaker, he is able to bring a touch of mischievousness in his watches. And of course, Van Cleef & Arpels gave him an excellent context to develop some ideas he maybe wouldn't have the opportunity in a more masculine context.

During the event, Van Cleed & Arpels presented a large range of the collection, let's browse it now.

It is obvious:  the two guest stars of the event were the « Pont des Amoureux » and the « Butterfly Symphony ». Both watches have a double retrograde time display but they are very different. First of all, one has a vertical time display (Butterfly Symphony) while the Lovers' Bridge has a horizontal one.

The Butterfly Symphony doesn't have hands: they are replaced by two enamelled butterflies which fly around a tree made of a white gold trunk and a mother-of-pearl foliage. It is a true pleasure for our eyes to watch the butterflies ballet and all the tree details. Caliber base is a JLC one.














The Lovers' Bridge has a different topic: it is a true reinterpretation of the relationships between women and men which is brought by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht. You may think I'm a bit rambling. I don't think so ! Firstly, you will notice that the hours are indicated by the umbrella and the minutes by the rose: when you expect a rendez-vous, don't you think that you are a bit more in a hurry if you are a man? But when the time of the rendez-vous is getting closer, when she feels that the man is coming, a woman can change her attitude and also becomes more anxious! It is the reason why the speed of the woman on the bridge is not linear: the last ten minutes, the distance she covers is larger than during the usual ten minutes. Of course, at midnight or noon the two characters meet each other and they leave the center of the bridge exactly at the same moment.

This watch is aesthetically beautiful but it is also a pure technical masterpiece. The good point is that the owner of the watch doesn't feel this complexity, she only feels the will of the two characters to join themselves right in the middle of the bridge... The white gold and diamonds case has a diameter of 38mm and the bridge, made of white gold, is positioned over an enamel dial.

























The Fairy is one of the most famous Van Cleef & Arpels watches: the fairy is a bit the symbol of the  Poetry of Time line. You will find a similar time display than the one used with the Butterfly Symphony. The fairy is made of white gold and diamonds, like the case.














The Day&Night has a classic time display. But the time indication doesn't seem to be the key feature of the watch. Our eyes are attracted by the ballet of the sun and of the moon. Sun is made of yellow sapphires while the moon is set with diamonds. Of course, the aventurine dial makes a full rotation every 24 hours.

















The Midnight in Paris displays a beautiful parisian sky made of aventurine. The star disc makes a full rotation in one year.














The Seasons Opera: again, the characters disc makes a full rotation in one year. Curtain is made of mother of pearl.






















A day in Paris:  with this watch, we have the feeling to live a 24 hours journey in Paris: Tuileries, Ile de la Cité, Avenue Montaigne, Tour Eiffel, Place Vendôme, the Opera etc..., it is a true walk between famous places of the French capital. The main dial is made of mother-of-peal while the journey disk is made of onyx with gold.


















Two very different Butterfly watches:














I really enjoyed to participate at this event because I understood that the lady's watches, when they are redefined with the right ideas can be a great opportunity for the watchmakers to create specific complications which are not seen in another context.

For me, for the time being, Van Cleef & Arpels with the Poetry of Time has the most beautiful lady's watches collection because they managed to create a chemistry, an alchemy between the design, the horological contents and the time display. My only regret is the presence of diamonds on the bezels. At least versions without them should be available. The poetic complications are enough to give a magic touch to the watches: the most precious thing is when you have the feeling that time is running slow...

Fr.Xavier

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