Another Level

Aside from watches and jewellery, Van Cleef & Arpels celebrates craftsmanship via the automata of its Extraordinary Objects collection.

- Words: Wei-Yu Wang

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS is lauded for its jewellery and, more recently, its watchmaking, but the maison also competes in a category that very few attempt. Its Extraordinary Objects are highly decorated automata that are not wearable, but are instead maximal displays of craftsmanship and moving, mechanical artistry. Other brands do create similar works of art from time to time, but none as consistently as Van Cleef & Arpels. Every year at the Watches & Wonders trade show, amid many renowned brands of watchmaking and jewellery, the Van Cleef & Arpels booth invariably draws a unique crowd waiting specifically for the next scheduled demonstration of one of these Extraordinary Objects.