Van Cleef & Arpels unveils its new watches outside of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie watch fair.
Romance is widely known as the cornerstone of Van Cleef & Arpels’ brand identity. The French maison uses it as a creative reference to unveil its new watch collections outside of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie watch fair for the first time
The year 2019 is an interesting one for Van Cleef & Arpels on many fronts. For one, the French maison did not participate in the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) watch fair in January—the first time since its first outing at the fair in 2002. “From decades ago, the fair was the only time in the year for the watch brands to meet the distributors, take orders and go into production, but now we meet on a more regular basis,” said Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicolas Bos to a regional newspaper earlier this year, explaining why the brand decided to withdraw from SIHH. The decision may come as a surprise, but not completely a shock, because the storied jeweller operates on a largely different business model as compared to its sister brands in parent company Richemont Group. While most watch brands rely on a wide network of retailers and a handful of boutiques to showcase their creations, Van Cleef & Arpels runs a total of 137 of its own stores worldwide, where its watches and jewellery are exclusively stocked.
So it makes natural sense for the brand to skip the annual watch fair, especially when it has very few
external suppliers and partners to meet. But does the fair withdrawal mean that Van Cleef & Arpels will streamline its watch business? The brand quashed all fears in the most emphatic of ways by organising a private event in Paris in October to showcase its horological creations for the year—a powerful statement to show the world that it has the financial might and watchmaking prowess to stand on its own. Looking at the pieces on show, it was obvious that plans to cut back on the growth of its horological arm are not on the brand’s horizon. If anything, it once again demonstrated its superlative capability to combine watchmaking savoir faire with modern whimsy and aesthetic elements synonymous with the house.
Another twist in Van Cleef & Arpel’s strategy this year is the unified theme it takes for both its haute joaillerie and haute horlogerie collections. In the past few years, the luxury giant had designed both collections based on largely different themes. Take last year’s creations, for instance: the Quatre Contes de Grimm high jewellery collection was inspired by four fairy tales by legendary German authors Brothers Grimm, while
Van Cleef & Arpels took ideas from Mother Nature for its last SIHH showing.
But for a change, its latest watch creations were designed based on the notion of love, the very same premise behind the brand’s Romeo & Juliet high jewellery collection launched in July.
The Poetic Complications collection sees the house breathe new life into its Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux watch, a Van Cleef & Arpels icon since 2010 that tells the story of a couple meeting on a Parisian bridge, while its Extraordinary Dials collection is enhanced with new creations inspired by love and love poems. Lastly, the High Jewelry collection tells the stories of iconic couples such as Aida and Radames from the famous Giuseppe Verdi opera, and medieval lovers Tristan and Iseult.
Threading both key highlights of the year on a common theme is not a typical strategy for most luxury marques in the watch and jewellery sphere. But for Van Cleef & Arpels, it is a logical move. With elements like romance and relationships being so closely associated with its identity, charting the entire year’s creations on a single direction definitely helps the maison’s various departments in designing and crafting the collections with a unified coherence and aesthetic—and the watches on show in Paris proved that the tactic is spot on.
ANOTHER TWIST IN VAN CLEEF & ARPEL’S STRATEGY THIS YEAR IS THE UNIFIED THEME IT TAKES FOR BOTH ITS HAUTE JOAILLERIE AND HAUTE HORLOGERIE COLLECTIONS