Rules of ENCHANTMENT

Van Cleef Arpels sweeps three watchmaking prizes at Grand Prix d Horlogerie de Genéve 2024.

- TAN SIOK HOON

Van Cleef & Arpels has made an enduring commitment to the values of creation through the preservation and transmission of métiers d’art since its founding. The techniques of artistic craftsmanship perpetuated by the Maison include enamel, miniature painting, marquetry of precious and ornamental stones, the arts of sculpture and engraving. These skills complement the work of master watchmakers to breathe life into the story of every watch dial that is fashioned at the Maison’s workshops.

What sets the watchmaking universe of Van Cleef & Arpels apart is the peerless way it instils wonderment, borrowing from its sources of inspiration and heritage, and developing new techniques to sublimate the passing time. The Maison’s art of watchmaking is embodied by its trademark Poetry of Time, which evokes a magical, dreamlike quality with an emotional dimension.

How the Maison hones its savoir-faire is a consummate affair, deriving from a blend of tradition and innovation, coupled with the ingenuity of its virtuoso craftsmen equipped with skills that are centuries old. At Watches and Wonders 2024, Van Cleef & Arpels pays homage to the expertise of its workshops, presenting two new Poetic Complications watches, inviting one to revel in cosmic allure: Lady Jour Nuit and Lady Arpels Jour Nuit.

It would be unusual if the Maison had omitted nature in any journey it takes, a testament provided by the new Lady Arpels Brise d’Été, inspired by the beauty of gardens, transcending into the enchanted forest of the Extraordinary Dials collection, represented by the Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté and Lady Arpels Nuit Enchantée creations. Two original automatons: Apparition des Baies and Bouton d’Or, from the Maison’s tradition of precious objects, complete its novelties reveal, exemplifying unparalleled savoir-faire at the crossroads of artistic craftsmanship and a quest for movement to enchant the passing hours.