Van Cleef & Arpels’ watchmaking philosophy has given birth to interesting innovations under its Poetry of Time collections.
Van cleef & Arpels has a whimsical way of telling time, thanks to its unorthodox watchmaking philosophy
Like many other luxury jewellery houses, Van Cleef & Arpels designs and produces watches. But ask its president and CEO Nicolas Bos if he regards the French house as a watchmaker, he will emphasise that the brand is a jeweller by trade. “We are primarily, and we will stay, a jewellery house. We are a jewellery house that expresses itself through jewels and through watches,” he said when we met in October at L’école des Arts Joailliers in Paris. The maison had invited select international press and top clients to the
City of Lights for the global launch of Poetry of Time, its annual collection of watches and bejewelled time-telling devices. Also the brand’s creative director, Bos highlighted the industry’s perception of a watchmaker being one that owns a full-fledged manufacture. Pointing to its horological facility in Meyrin, Switzerland, he acknowledged that in that sense, the brand has always been a watchmaker. “But we were never and never will be, I believe, a manufacture that develops and produces movements from A to Z.”
The Frenchman thinks that “there is a real legitimacy” in the way Van Cleef & Arpels has approached watchmaking. And it “doesn’t necessarily include producing the movement”. Including exceptional gemstones in the design, partnering the best in the different fields, and creating a compelling story around the final product, he noted, are just as important.
MASTER OF CRAFTS
The new Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux watch launched at the event held at the Garde Républicaine training facility is a showcase of Van Cleef & Arpels’ mastery of watchmaking. Similar to what was used on the dial of the original Lady Arpels
Pont des Amoureux first launched in 2010, the grisaille enamel technique is once again employed on the new version. White enamel powder is placed on a dark background, which renders the light and shade effects of the Parisian night.
But to push the creative envelope, Van Cleef & Arpels used coloured grisaille enamel for Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Jour, the daytime version of the watch, as well as the four limited-edition Tender Seasons pieces, which feature dials depicting scenes of the four seasons. Its artisans used pink and blue enamels against a white background to evoke the softness of daylight.
While the new Pont des Amoureux watch looks similar to the original, it is not a like-for-like replica. For one, its watch face features minor tweaks such as the crescent moon being shifted closer to the dial peripheral from its original spot near the number 12 of the hour arc. What is also different about the new Pont des Amoureux is the inclusion of an on-demand animation button at 8 o’clock. By pressing the button, the wearer can enjoy the pure bliss of watching the lovers—the lady is the hour hand, while the gentleman the minute hand—walking up the bridge and kissing briefly before they resume telling the time.
A watch with such an animation function requires energy to bring the components to life on the dial. How is energy regulated in this movement then? Van Cleef & Arpels cleverly used its experience in working with automatons such as the Lady Arpels Papillon Automate from 2017 to re-engineer the self-winding calibre. To activate the lovers’ rendezvous, energy is generated by pressing the button, an action that triggers a series of gears to provide a sufficient push to set the entire animation in motion. This way, the watch’s accuracy is not compromised by the lack of energy in the movement.
FREE PLAY
Besides the Pont des Amoureux line, this year’s Poetry of Time collection also includes the Extraordinary Dials and High Jewelry ranges, both of which are also heavily inspired by love. Couple these with the Romeo & Juliet high jewellery collection launched in July, and one might think that the French house has deliberately selected love to be the central theme for the year. Despite agreeing that 2019 is “the year of love”, Bos insisted that the brand will not always operate on an annual unified theme.
“The day these types of creative approach start to become strategies and be systematic, they lose the freshness and spontaneity,” he stressed. “With some themes, they can be universal, while others will only remain with specific projects. I’d like to have us work on universal themes sometimes, and then come back to some that are obscure or specific. We simply just want to talk about watches and the way we express the identity of the house through them.”
Japanese watch brand Grand Seiko has a strong reputation for quality, and in recent years, it has steadily built up a following for its functional and handsome timepieces. While the brand is better known for its watches for men, it also has a choice selection for women who want the best of both worlds when it comes to stylish and quality timepieces.
Just last year, Grand Seiko unveiled a limited-edition women’s watch that housed the automatic calibre 9S25, which had been specially designed for it. This was a strong statement by the brand, emphasising the fact that it is out to make serious watches for women.
This year, a new automatic calibre 9S27 has been introduced within a series of five exquisite timepieces for women, all of which are permanent additions to the stable. The most prominent feature about the calibre 9S27 is how it packs high performance into its remarkable slimness. At just 19.4mm wide and 4.49mm thin, it fits beautifully into the elegant watches that flatter women’s wrists.
Performance-wise, it is just as outstanding. The calibre 9S27 boasts a power reserve of 50 hours and precision rate of +8/-3 seconds per day. Each movement is made, assembled and adjusted by hand at the brand’s Shizukuishi Watch Studio in Japan, where it is crafted with the same high level of craftsmanship applied to every other Grand Seiko mechanical watch. It is also put through a rigorous 17-day testing procedure.
The latest Spron 610 alloy, the watchmaker’s proprietary high-tech material, is used for the balance spring, pallet fork and escapement wheel. These components are made using microelectromechanical systems or MEMS engineering, which utilises microfabrication technologies to produce finely-made parts. This also makes crafting the escapement wheel in the shape of a five-petal flower possible.
In terms of aesthetics, this new series of women’s watches is designed for a variety of tastes. The 18K gold models with diamond-set bezels are for those who like a little sparkle on their wrists, while women who prefer a classic watch with everyday appeal will lean towards the stainless steel variations.
Measuring 27.8mm wide, the cases of the steel versions are Zaratsu‑ polished—an in-house technique that produces a mirrored finishing—to give them the understated shine that is the mark of a Grand Seiko timepiece. Choose between diamond hour markers set against a weave-patterned champagne‑silver dial or baton hour markers on a mother-of-pearl dial. Either way, both are elegant examples of modern femininity that come equipped with a movement of superlative quality.
GRAND SEIKO
Seiko Boutique:
• 01-29 Jem, tel: 6339 4539
• B1-36 Takashimaya S C, tel: 6235 1983
• 01-03 Vivocity, tel: 6376 8081 grand-seiko.com facebook.com/grandseikosg