WHEN LOVERS MEET
In Geneva, GORDON LAM discovers the wonders of Love Stories with Van Cleef & Arpels – and looks for a kiss on a romantic bridge
THE LADY ARPELS Pont des Amoureux, the iconic watch that luxury French jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels proudly created in 2010, has now been modernised with revolutionary styles, new techniques and a wider range of faces from which to choose. So we journeyed to Geneva, Switzerland to the rarely seen Van Cleef & Arpels watchmaking HQ for a microscopic tour of how this latest watch has been reinvented – and to discover the new
Love Stories hidden within.
Upon our arrival in Geneva, our chaperones from the Hong Kong team – Jeannie Guo, Van Cleef & Arpels’ communications director, and Winnie Cheung, Van Cleef & Arpels’ assistant
PR and events manager – thought it would be a great idea to head over to the French Alps of Megève in the Mont Blanc massif. This historic luxury ski resort village dates back to the 13th century, with a long history of love linked to the Rothschild family – and especially Baroness Noémie de Rothschild, who transformed Megève into a tourist destination in the 1920s. In the 1960s, Edmond de Rothschild further revamped this exclusive village as a playground for the rich and famous, from aristocrats to celebrities.
We certainly felt like celebrities when we arrived at our hotel, the Coeur de Megève. Since this was low season and the resort wouldn’t open for another month or so, we practically took over the entire village of Megève, thanks to Van Cleef & Arpels Hong Kong. The only people there were primarily local workers doing construction work in preparing for the coming winter season. Just a handful of shops and brasseries were open; I think I saw less than 40 people during our entire stay in the village – plus a few horses, cats and dogs, and some crazy cows trying to attack us!
Since we only managed to get into Megève after lunch, we had just half a day to spend touring the village, riding on a horsedrawn cart, enjoying an afternoon aperitif in the centre of the town hall and fi nishing off our evening at Flocons Village by renowned chef Emmanuel Renaut (his second restaurant after the three-Michelin-starred Flocons de Sel) – and of course he’s a friend of the maison.
The following morning was indeed a tough one. After waking up at 4.30am with severe jet lag, we were set to leave Megève at 8.30am to head back to Geneva for an exclusive look inside Les Ateliers Horlogers, which is Van Cleef & Arpels’ official workshop. Usually, it doesn’t open up to any visitors due to its highly secretive research and development areas, along with its top watch and jewellery artisans, who cannot be shown or have their photos taken.
This Van Cleef & Arpels building is more than impressive. We were greeted by the brand’s representatives, who kindly showed us the manufacturing processes of the latest Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux collection. The original was created 10 years ago, with a poetic love story based in Paris, where two lovers would eagerly meet over the bridge for a kiss every day at noon and midnight. To describe this unique mechanical movement in layman’s terms, it’s like the shape of the letter V in a pivot. The left-hand side with the hour hand is the girl with an umbrella, and on the right, the minute hand is the gentleman holding a rose behind his back, waiting to surprise his beloved. The V-shaped dials move inwards towards each other until they fi nally meet, facing each other at noon and midnight. Then, both dials spring back to their positions again.
First and foremost a jeweller, Van Cleef & Arpels has quite an advantage compared to other watcmakers, as it isn’t restricted in terms of its movements, giving it absolute creative freedom to build on its vision. It’s the poetry, dreams, fairy tales and love stories that the brand’s watches are built on. To Van Cleef & Arpels, everything starts with a story and we can all relate – especially a great love story!
Van Cleef & Arpels tells the story of the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux like this: “Night is falling on the rooftops of Paris. In the sleeping city, two lovers are thinking of each other, wishing that they could meet. They rush through streets bathed in a nocturnal glow; silent gardens and crystalline fountains guide their steps. They walk along the Seine with beating hearts, then strike out onto the bridge that will bring them together. She comes closer with a light step beneath her umbrella; he hides a rose behind his back as a love token.”