Horological Meandering

A visit at Van Cleef & Arpels Place Vendôme

 

Last week, I had the chance to spend one half day with the VC&A team at the "Temps Poétique" Boutique, place Vendôme, their first boutique entirely dedicated to the watchmaking collection. In fact, there was a reason behind this meeting: the opportunity to discover the latest collection inspired by the famous Jules Verne's novel: "From the Earth to the Moon".

Of course, if you remember well the SIHH at the beginning of this year, you are not surprised by this inspiration which is the logical sequel of what we saw in January.

But, prepare yourself... we will not fly in a balloon this time... we use a rocket and we reach the stars! Ready to enter the Launch Pad?





To prepare you to this new journey, let's browse the  previous watches:

We start with the famous "Five weeks in a Balloon" and its double retrograde display. Movement is based on a JLC 846 with a module coming from Agenhor. We easily recognize Jean-Marc Wiederrecht's style with this kind of time display. Of course, the work on the dial is flawless even if I find the balloon... too present on it.

The watch has a 42mm case:

Thanks to the balloon, we are able to safely observe the wildlife. I love these  exquisite Lady Arpels watches which belong to the Extraordinary dials collection.


Lady Arpels Polar Landscape, white bear decor (the use of MOP which looks like ice is really eye-catching):

Lady Arpels Polar Landscape, whale decor (water is represented by an engraved glass):

Lady Arpels African Landscape, Antelope Decor:

Lady Arpels African Landscape, Elephant Decor:

But VC&A also presented a wooden watchmaking cabinet dedicated to "Les Voyages Extraordinaires". Only 22 cabinets were created. Why 22? Because VC&A is located 22 Place Vendôme. A prestigious guide will accompany us during these 4 journeys to the most hidden places: Jules Vernes himself.

The 4 watches have a 42mm WG case, a Piaget 800P automatic movement and a transluscent pailloné enamel dial.

Midnight Les 4 Voyages, Five weeks in a Balloon (the balloon is visible on the top right side):

Midnight Les 4 Voyages, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea:

Midnight Les 4 Voyages, A Journey to the Center of the Earth:

And... Midnight Les 4 Voyages, From the Earth to the Moon:

This latest watch is the link between the January collection and the new one. VC&A proposes us to leave the Earth and to dodge betwen the stars and meteorites.

Like with the Voyages Extraordinaires, VC&A created a cabinet which gathers 4 watches, this time with Lady Arpels cases and "extraordinary dials". The topic of this collection is to depict 4 famous constellations. Each watch is powered by a Piaget 830P movement and has a 38mm WG case. Each dial combines different artistic techniques like Champlevé enamel, vallonné enamel, gold sculpting, hard stone marquetry and stone setting. It is this unique combo which makes these dials so impressive.

Let's start with the Pavo one:

The Cygnus:

Cassiopeia:

Pegasus:

You will notice that the range of colours is very broad but always harmonious. It is like an explosion of colours, fireworks of  shades and  lights.

Again, only 22 cabinets will be available.

The 4 watches together:

Frankly speaking, I was more impressed by the contents of this cabinet than by the previous one. The result is even more subtle and the contrast between the brightness of the stones and the darkness of the dials creates an oniric atmosphere...

To reach these constellations, a rocket is required. And thanks to Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, we are able to take one. With the Poetic Complication, From the Earth to the Moon, we find again the same time display used with the Balloon watch. Minutes are displayed by the rocket while the hours are displayed by the star.

If you are observant, you will notice that the rocket, with the flow of time, travels from the Moon to the Earth. Hopefully, thanks to the retrograde system, it goes immediately back to the Moon.

I asked to Jean-Marc Wiederrecht the reason of the use of the JLC 846 to power the Agenhor module in a 42mm case watch. After all, the watch is large enough to use a bigger movement with an increased power reserve. The explanation is found in the small size of the JLC 846. The module is not put on top of the caliber but next to it, at the same level in order to preserve a reasonable case height. Power reserve is around 30 hours which is enough when you wind a watch... at the same time everyday.

This watch is pure magic. I much prefer it to the Balloon one. The "From the Earth to the Moon" proposes us a very detailed dial with Champleve enamel, black jade, agate and meteorites:look at these meteorites, they seem to float in space... I didn't have the same feeling with the cloudy sky of the "Balloon".

Do you remember the watch which was presented by VC&A at the Only Watch charity Auction? It was basically the same watch, without the bezel setting and with the Moon and Earth which were encroaching on the bezel.

The watch is also available without the bezel setting.

The watch is numeroted... but how many will be produced? The mystery remains...

This rocket is nice but a bit small... let's take a bigger one.

The Timeless with "From the Earth to the Moon decor" has a dial with mother-of-pearl marquetry, diamonds and sapphires ... and nice detail: the windows glow in the night... this is really a beautiful watch, a sort of crazy Baignoire sadly powered by a quartz movement.

When you wish to start a journey, you prepare your travel bag. And in your bag, if your wish is to adventurously travel, you don't forget the compass!  Hopefully, to symbolize this compass, VC&A provides  with the other new Timeless watch  a wind rose on its dial:

With this watch, we put an end to this journey in space... and inside VC&A world. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed to discover the novelties in this unique crossroad in where horology and jewellry meet.

I would like to warmly welcome the staff of the VC&A Boutique "Le Temps Poétique" in Paris for the time dedicated to me.

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