HEAVENLY BODIES
Van Cleef & Arpels unleashes the seductive powers of the midnight sky and Mother Nature in a heartachingly beautiful range of high-jewellery watches
PARISIAN HIGH-JEWELLERY maison Van Cleef & Arpels dazzled the watch world back in 2014 when it unveiled the ultra-complicated Midnight Planétarium for men. The follow-up came at this year’s SIHH, in the form of the smaller – but even more complicated and exquisitely bejewelled – Lady Arpels Planétarium, which mimics the orbit of the planets around the sun with a movement designed by astronomical watchmaker, Christiaan van der Klaauw.
The sun is at the centre of the dial, around which the heavenly bodies (Earth is turquoise; Venus, green enamel; Mercury, pink motherof-pearl; the Moon, diamond) rotate in the time it actually takes for them to do so. Earth time, meanwhile, is indicated by the twice-daily circumnavigaton of a shooting star at the edge of the lustrous Aventurine dial, with markers at 15-minute intervals.
Also known for its ability to weave poetry into time, Van Cleef & Arpels launched a collection
of ultra-precious highjewellery secret watches that combine the maison’s technical expertise with its exquisite artistic sensibilities. Among the eight creations are five unique pieces, each a tour de force of craftsmanship and mechanical ingenuity. The other three, while not as exclusively created, are as preciously made. Worn with satin straps as elegant evening watches, they can also be detached and, using elaborately decorated pins, transformed into beautiful floral corsages.
Commanding the most attention is the Dandelion Secret watch, a torque bracelet that cuts a striking profile. Referencing the wild flower’s dual nature, one end of the bracelet shows a bejewelled representation of a dandelion seed head, with diamonds set en tremblant to quiver at the slightest motion; at the other end, a fully bloomed dandelion flower encrusted in yellow diamonds has a pivoting corolla that hides the time.