FOR BETTER AND FOR VERSE

While Van Cleef & Arpels's new Pont des Amoureux watches in its Poetic Complications collection revisits an icon, these latest timepieces for women up the ante with a fresh design and technical approach.

- by Preetika Mathew

— There are few who wouldn't be captivated by the whimsy and playfulness of Van Cleef & Arpels's Poetic Complications line.

Aptly named after unique ways of reading time that focus on the story behind the display, the line has seen timepieces like the Lady Féerie watch (where a fairy with a wand indicates the retrograde minutes), and Lady Arpels Brise d'Été (with an automaton that showcases leaves and flowers billowing in the breeze, and two butterflies indicating time). The latest from the brand in this line, released at Watches and Wonders 2025, is Pont des Amoureux, French for 'Bridge of Love'—four new watches that capture different moments of the day.

The Pont des Amoureux is not a new collection per se; it debuted in 2010 (when it also won the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in the 'Ladies Watch Prize' category) and in 2019, saw four versions depicting different seasons. Like the 2019 releases, each new piece presents different times of the day—there is dawn (Aube), morning (Matinée), dusk (Soirée), and moonlight (Claire de Lune) done in intricate grisaille enamel on the dials. These settings provide the backdrop for what is the highlight of Pont des Amoureux watches—a signature double retrograde movement depicted by two lovers, who indicate the minutes and hours as they move towards each other on a bridge for a kiss at noon and midnight. This is also an on-demand feature, activated by a pusher at 8 o'clock, demonstrating the brand's idea of a 'poetic complication'. Crafted in white and rose gold and driven by automatic movements, each piece is accompanied by bejewelled bracelets entirely set with diamonds and a gradation of sapphires featuring a unique colour scheme.