French luxury jewellery and watchmaking brand Van Cleef & Arpels pays a warm tribute to Paris – the city of the Maison’s birth – during the 2025 edition of Watches and Wonders in Geneva.
The tribute consists of the company playing host to precious encounters with the Pont des Amoureux collection, welcoming new colour harmonies and writing another chapter with the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate watch. The latter tells the story of a tender reunion, at the crossroads of métiers d’art and the mechanical expertise of Van Cleef & Arpels’ Watchmaking Workshops in Geneva.
Illustrating its Poetry of Time vision, two Extraordinary Objects offer to contemplate the passing of time to the rhythm of a cupid’s beating wings, or to admire a celestial ballet. Finally, bejewelled watches celebrate the tradition of jewels that tell time so dear to the Maison.
“This event is always an opportunity for us to tell our story and to showcase our Poetic Complications, such as the Pont des Amoureux collection,” said Catherine Rénier, President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels.
“These watches, created in 2010 and reinvented in several colour variations, have become a signature of the Maison over the years. They embody the Poetry of Time dear to Van Cleef & Arpels, its mechanical expertise and its attachment to métiers d’art, while expressing one of its founding sources of inspiration: love.”
A Maison Born out of Love
The story of Van Cleef & Arpels began in 1895 with the marriage of Alfred Van Cleef and Esther (known as Estelle) Arpels, both from families in the jewellery business. In 1906, the High Jewellery and watchmaking Maison Van Cleef & Arpels was founded at 22 Place Vendôme in Paris.
Love has nurtured the creativity of the Maison since its inception. The first piece mentioned in the sales records from 1906 is a heart set in diamonds. Alongside luck and nature, this theme is a key source of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels and embodies its positive vision of life.
This commitment is expressed through precious tokens of love: bouquets of flowers, cupids, lovebirds, secret messages and affectionate couples. These symbols adorn jewellery and watch creations, giving rise to delicate romances, as on the watches of the Pont des Amoureux collection.
The Poetic Complications Collection
Since 2006, the Maison has expressed the poetry of its universe through its complication watches. In this ensemble, creations combine mechanical expertise, precious materials and métiers d’art to enliven each dial with a story.
The initial design stage is followed by an extended process of development and engineering to create the movements that breathe life into the pieces. Retrograde movements gracefully indicate the time on the dials while on-demand animations reenact the tenderness of a romantic rendezvous.
Technical prowess goes hand in hand with creative vision, bringing together the talents of enamellers, miniature painters, engravers, lapidaries and gem-setters. The timepieces thus become precious objects, reflecting Van Cleef & Arpels’ poetic vision of time.
The Pont des Amoureux collection – A Flourishing Story
In 2010, Van Cleef & Arpels unveiled the Pont des Amoureux watch, the first Poetic Complications piece to win a prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
Ever since, the collection has told the story of a woman and a man who, bound by affection, meet on a bridge in Paris. Respectively marking the hours and minutes with a double retrograde movement, the two lovers move toward each other at noon and midnight.
Time seems to stand still for three minutes, before the figures separate to indicate the hours and minutes anew. To experience the poetry of this moment at will, an on-demand animation allows the wearer to replay the scene for twelve seconds.
This year, four new watches with precious bracelets enrich the story, revealing the couple in landscape scenes evoking different moments of the day. In turn, the dials take on colour nuances of dawn, morning, dusk and moonlight.
These charming décors come to life through the grisailleenamel technique, applied here like delicate watercolours in a broad palette of shades. In the foreground, the bridge’s silhouette has been finely sculpted in gold and stands out from the landscape, creating a perspective effect.
The story continues on the back of the case thanks to a technique of enamel decal on sapphire glass and gold engraving. The watches are accompanied by jewelled bracelets entirely set with diamonds and a gradation of sapphires, in soft or intense pink for the Aube and Soirée models respectively, and light or deep blue for Matinée and Clair de Lune. The intricate meshing system allows the bands to fluidly embrace the curve of the wrist.
Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate – A Fresh Chapter
Continuing the story initiated with the Pont des Amoureux watch, Van Cleef & Arpels introduces a new rendezvous. The Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate watch sets the scene for the couple’s tryst in an all-new décor.
This setting recreates the atmosphere and charm of a guinguette, an open-air dance café typical of Paris’ suburbs and surrounding areas popular in the 19th century. An automaton movement brings the lovers closer together at noon and midnight. This tender scene can be recreated on demand with the push of a button on the watch case.
The hours and minutes are indicated by two stars set in motion by a double retrograde system, a signature feature of the collection. Within the dial, depth effects are multiplied with five different planes.
The palette of shades in grisailleand coloured grisailleenamel evokes the chiaroscuro of a starlit night. Festive lanterns and a bed of cobblestones in white gold – handcrafted by the Maison’s artisans – recall the streets of Paris. The back of the case echoes the scene on the dial, with enamel decal on sapphire glass and an engraving depicting the couple dancing.
A New Movement Created by the Maison
The enchantment of the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate is made possible by the meticulous work of Van Cleef & Arpels’ watchmaking experts in Geneva. After four years of research and development, they have created an automaton movement new to the Maison’s collections.
When the animation begins, each character comes to life. They approach one another, leaning in while their linked arms lower realistically thanks to three articulations. Experts treated the fluidity of the figures’ movements with particular care. Designed in very small dimensions to fit into a slim case, the mechanism is cleverly concealed beneath the décor of the dial.
“For the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate watch, we wanted to give our lovers the most natural gestures possible,” said Rainer Bernard, Head of Research and Development for Watchmaking.
“This meant articulating them and combining two simultaneous movements – their approach as well as their inclination toward one another – while giving them a degree of freedom to ensure the fluidity of the animation. The difficulty lay in achieving several natural gestures without altering the precision of the mechanism.”
Grisaille Enamel – A Signature Savoir-Faire of the Maison
Featured on the dial of the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate watch, grisailleenamel is a traditional métier d’art that requires both mastery and patience. Developed in France in the 16th century, this precise technique captures the chiaroscuro effects of a Parisian night.
The piece showcases two variations of this rare savoir-faire. For the traditional grisailleenamel, the workshop craftsmen applied two layers of white enamel powder known as blanc de Limogesto a dark blue background to accentuate the contrasting effects of the décor.
This is further enhanced by coloured grisailleenamel, in which different tones of blue are applied, illuminated by warm touches of yellow representing the light of the lanterns. This enamelling technique requires some 40 hours of work and a dozen kiln firings per dial to achieve the desired result.
“Producing grisaille enamel on this watch presented a number of challenges,” said the Head of Métiers d’Art Development, Enamel Research and Development at Van Cleef & Arpels’ Watchmaking Workshops in Geneva.
“The depth effects on the dial required particularly meticulous perspective work, considering the various three-dimensional elements that adorn the scene. In addition, the play of light in the design led us to create new shades of blue and to combine different whites to obtain a wider range of tones. We succeeded in creating enamels of great delicacy that blend harmoniously with the yellow accents strewn across the dial.”
Extraordinary Objects
Since its founding in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels has also distinguished itself in the creation of precious objects full of enchantment and surprise. These decorative elements and beauty accessories – like powder compacts and perfume bottles – reflect both the habits of their eras and the Maison’s expertise.
In keeping with this tradition, automata offer a new vision of time. The minutes seem to stand still as a moving element emerges from the heart of a bouquet while the years fly by to swirl the stars in a décor that reproduces the mystery of the cosmos.
Remarkable for their combination of materials, these pieces become the stage for a dialogue between the mechanics of art, High Jewellery and métiers d’art, expressing the breadth of Van Cleef & Arpels’ expertise, its enchanting universe, and its commitment to the preservation and transmission of these time-honoured savoir-faire.
Naissance de l’Amour Automaton
The Naissance de l’Amour automaton is a continuation of the collection initiated by Van Cleef & Arpels in 2022 with Rêveries de Berylline, and expanded in 2023 and 2024, notably with Éveil du Cyclamen and Bouton d’Or.
Around 30cm high, the object features the mythological character of Cupid in a composition expressing the tenderness of emotion. In white gold, rose gold, yellow gold and diamonds, it emerges from a basket of feathers adorned with a lacquered colour gradation.
The complex mechanism was designed in partnership with François Junod’s studio in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland. The figurine sits atop a Greek column in sculpted rose gold and a composition of clouds in white gold, diamonds and pink sapphires in three different shades. It rises gracefully, turning on itself, fluttering its plique-à-jour enamel wings for a few moments before returning to its hideaway. Its ascent is accompanied by the melody of a carillon.
The base of the automaton is carved entirely in iron eye, a highly variegated stone with golden highlights. A bowl composed of petrified palmwood – a new gemstone in the Maison’s creations – holds the basket of feathers.
These materials have been carefully selected by the Maison’s experts, then cut and polished to reveal their character and singularity. A graduated rotating ring indicates the time thanks to two lacquered feathers accented with diamonds, held in place by a bow entirely paved with diamonds.
Planétarium Automaton
From Place Vendôme, Van Cleef & Arpels was fascinated by the spectacle of the stars and the celestial vault. The Maison celebrates the beauty of these heavenly bodies through its Poetic Astronomy universe.
As of 2014, it has worked to reduce the dimensions of 18th-century planetariums – models depicting the sun, moon and planets surrounding the Earth – to suit the size of the wrist. Thus was born the Planétarium collection, featuring complex timepieces and large-scale automata. This year, the collection expands with a new Extraordinary Object, featuring a combination of materials in luminous hues.
Distinguished by its impressive dimensions (50cm – 19.7 inches – high and 66.5cm – 26.2 inches – in diameter), the Planétarium automaton created by Van Cleef & Arpels presents the sun and the planets in its system visible from the Earth: Mercury, Venus, Earth – accompanied by its satellite, the moon – as well as Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Owing to a complex mechanical movement, each celestial body moves at its actual speed of rotation, performing a complete orbit in 88 days for Mercury, 224 days for Venus, 365 days for Earth, 687 days for Mars, 11.86 years for Jupiter and 29.5 years for Saturn.
As on the women’s watches in the collection, the moon itself revolves around the Earth in 27.3 days, animating the object with a noticeable movement day after day. The tabletop object, equipped with a planetarium module and on-demand animation developed by Van Cleef & Arpels, also allows the stars to dance as many times as desired.
Beneath the custom-blown globe of the automaton, a poetic scene comes to life. When the animation begins, a shooting star in rose gold, diamonds and Mystery Set rubies emerges from a hatch and flies by to indicate the hours and minutes on a 24-hour dial.
The star sweeps the planets along in a ballet accompanied by a crystalline melody. Every second planet moves in the opposite direction to its natural orbit, while some rise and fall.
On the piece’s base – made from lemonwood, white holly, amaranth and ziricote – several dials are aligned one after the other: hours/minutes; day/night; a perpetual calendar indicating the day, month and year; and, finally, a power reserve. The automaton’s 15-bell chime is also visible through a door.
The Magic of Materials
To evoke the wonder inspired by gazing at the heavens, Van Cleef & Arpels has painstakingly selected and crafted the materials, combining precious and ornamental stones derived from traditional jewellery making.
The sun features a core of rose gold motifs and spessartite garnets, yellow sapphires and diamonds set on more than 500 gold stems. It quivers during the automaton animation by means of a trembleurin the mechanism. This jewellery technique enables the motif to vibrate with the slightest movement, accentuating the sparkle of the stones.
Three-dimensional planets are arranged around the sun. All are adorned with a gold ribbon inspired by 18th century celestial charts, on which their names are engraved.
To conjure the depth of the cosmos, fifteen discs of lapis lazuli inlaid with stars in rose and white gold and closed-set diamonds are positioned concentrically within the dial. The planets and shooting star move at their own pace in a shimmering setting. The ensemble inspires a dual emotion, suspended between immersion in the universe and the beauty of the craftsmanship.
Jewels that tell Time – An Emblematic Van Cleef & Arpels Tradition
At the crossroads of Watchmaking and High Jewellery, Van Cleef & Arpels continues to explore its creative universe with jewels that tell the time.
The creations combine the discreet reading of time with the excellence of jewellery-making savoir-faire. While the ingenuity of invisible clasps and assembly techniques brings flexibility and elegance to the bracelets, the stones are meticulously selected and matched according to exacting quality criteria.
The Cadenas Watch
Created in 1935, the Cadenas watch quickly became an emblem of Van Cleef & Arpels’ watchmaking.
The timepiece’s sleek design is distinguished by its handle reminiscent of a padlock. Around it, the clasp of a double snake chain slides fluidly, following the curve of the wrist with flexibility.
In this way, the creation can be worn as a bracelet, its angled dial allowing the time to be read discreetly. In keeping with the original aesthetic of this model, which has marked the Maison’s history, Van Cleef & Arpels is introducing a new precious creation.
This piece combines a yellow gold bracelet with a case paved in snow-set diamonds and enhanced by a row of princess-cut sapphires. This radiant combination of colours is repeated on the clasp, adorned with a line of square sapphires. The piece’s white gold dial is also adorned with the brilliance of diamonds.
A Van Cleef & Arpels Signature since 1935
The Cadenas watch holds an important place among the Maison’s emblematic creations. First created in 1935 in yellow gold, it subsequently saw numerous chromatic variations, notably with the introduction in December 1936 of a row of calibrated sapphires or rubies enhancing the upper side of the case and the back of the clasp.
This colour chart expanded with the inclusion of diamonds in 1938 and emeralds in 1943. The piece also adapts to the taste for white jewellery, combining pavé-set brilliants with a row of baguette-cut diamonds on a platinum snake chain. The model is also reinterpreted with a leather bracelet for a more everyday wear.
By transposing the shape of an ordinary object – here, a padlock – to the case of a watch, Van Cleef & Arpels echoes the concept of the readymade, introduced by Marcel Duchamp in the 1910s and later developed in the 1930s with the Surrealist movement.
This creation also followed a rule imposed on fashionable women of the time, namely that they had to remain above all consideration of time passing. They, therefore, had to glance at their watches discreetly. With its dial facing the inside of the wrist and its jewel-like appearance, the watch enabled its wearer to peek at the time, as seen in a 1936 advertisement.
The Ruban Mystérieux watch
Inspired by the world of couture, interpreted by the Maison since its beginnings, this High Jewellery watch reproduces the delicacy of a ribbon gracefully enveloping the wrist. At the centre of the piece, a 3.72-carat oval-cut DIF diamond sits atop the dial, revealing the time thanks to the purity of its finely crystallised material. The watch comes to life through a hand-wound mechanical movement whose small size requires great precision when assembled to the case.
On this piece, the metal is rendered discreet beneath the brilliance of the diamonds thanks to the stones’ snow-set arrangement. It also fades away in favour of the rich nuances of the sapphires and emeralds, held in place by the Mystery Set technique.
Patented by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1933, this iconic savoir-faire is based on the use of gold rails into which meticulously cut stones are fitted one by one. Once placed, the gemstones perfectly cover the set surface, bestowing the piece with a velvety radiance.