Lady Nuit des Papillons

Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2016

This year, Van Cleef & Arpels illustrates the inventiveness and fairylike quality of its watchmaking universe with two emblematic examples of the Maison’s savoir-faire: jewels that tell the time and Poetic Complications™ watches. Its High Jewelry expertise has given rise to creations that capture the hours in their most precious finery. Time confides itself like a secret or glitters #amboyantly, magni$ed by precious stones.
From diamonds to colored sapphires , gems al so punctuate the Poetic Complications collection. Taking pride of place this year with a particularly rich selection, the latter brings together the refinement of traditional crafts and technical sophistication to express the sources of Van Cleef & Arpels’ inspiration. In bringing to life a ballet of butter#ies, a swallow or a graceful fairy, the Maison has deployed unbounded creativity to reinvent the Poetry of Time™, charged with enchantment and emotion.

High Jewelry Watches

Genuine jewels and enchanting timepieces, the High Jewelry watches depict the passage of the hours with sparkling poetry. From nature to ballet and couture, Van Cleef & Arpels’ cherished themes $nd expression in the meeting of two skills: the measurement of time and the excellence of jewelry savoir-faire.
While the ingenuity of invisible clasps and assembly techniques brings #exibility and elegance to the bracelets, the stones are carefully selected and matched in keeping with the most stringent criteria. Diamonds are revealed in all their brilliance, thanks to subtle plays of cuts and settings.
This year, the Maison also gives a special place of honor to its secret watch tradition. Dating from the 1920s, these timepieces surprise and appeal for their light-hearted aspects: chatelaines that take on the appearance of jewels, #owers and stone-studded leaves that rise to reveal a dial. These elegant and inventive pieces enabled their wearers to tell the time with discretion, in accordance with the customs of the era.
Today, the Maison breathes new life into this game of hide and seek and offers a secret space to each second. Sliding open an invisible drawer or raising a precious tassel evoke a personal sense of time, alive with intimate memories.

Lady Nuit des Papillons watch

33mm case in white gold and diamonds, bezel set with diamonds, crown set with one sapphire. Dial: white gold, round and rose-cut diamonds, sapphires, miniature painting. Case back: white gold engraved with motifs echoing the story of the dial. Manual-winding mechanical movement, 12-hour module developed exclusively for Van Cleef & Arpels, 40-hour power reserve Shiny navy blue alligator strap, white gold pin buckle set with diamonds and High Jewelry bracelet set with diamonds and sapphires. Permanent collection, numbered edition

The rhythm of nature

A major source of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels, nature has contributed its rhythm and poetry to these two Poetic Complications creations. With the
Lady Jour des Fleurs watch – evoking the cycle of the seasons – time flows by in harmony with the colors of the vegetation. A delicate foliage adorned with berries is brought to life by changing hues, from spring-like green to autumnal red.
This flora in perpetual renewal gives way for a graceful and aerial fauna on the Lady Nuit des Papillons watch. Capturing the ephemeral beauty of #ight, the Maison depicts a procession of butterflies glittering in the moonlight. Already present in Van Cleef & Arpels’ imagination in the 1920s, this theme here finds a new expression that evolves – like nature – from hour to hour.

An innovative chapter

With these two models, the Maison blends High Jewelry craftsmanship with the spirit of the Poetic Complications collection in a unique combination. Two new features are introduced on this occasion: the hour minute display with 12-hour rotating disk movement and a case measuring 33mm in diameter (compared to the usual 38mm).
Set with diamonds on the bezel and edge, this receptacle of feminine proportions contains a hand-wound mechanical movement equipped with a 12-hour module, developed exclusively for Van Cleef & Arpels. The reduced dimensions of the case and thinness of the movement are a feat of technical expertise.
Beneath a pierced over-dial, the rotating disk makes two complete turns each day to create an ever-changing scene. Behind the circling hands, an enchanting tableau is revealed that encourages gentle contemplation.

The palette of gems

To illustrate the story related by each watch, the Maison has turned more than ever to its High Jewelry savoir-faire. The dial is crowned by a sparkling over-dial with serti neige style setting, adorned with diamonds of different diameters (DE for color and VVS for clarity) so as to perfectly match the surface. On the Lady Nuit des Papillons watch, four rose-cut diamonds outline the wings of a butterfly, offering a glimpse of bluish tones through their transparency.
Between the over-dial’s motifs, a rotating disk appears, entirely set with gemstones. Carefully selected sapphires and diamonds form a subtle gradation, evoking a night sky.
The Jour des Fleurs model depicts shimmering foliage in dazzling shades of green, yellow, orange and purple. Spessartite and tsavorite garnets, yellow and pink sapphires and spinels come together to recreate seasonal hues. On the over-dial, berries in pink sapphires embellish the scene, while the back of the case is adorned with intricately engraved plant motifs.

Available on an alligator bracelet, these exceptional pieces can also be accompanied by a jeweled bracelet of particular virtuosity. The theme of the dial is continued in an elegant composition in diamonds and colored stones – sapphire butterfly wings or multicolored leaves fluttering in the breeze. Thanks to a specially designed system of articulation, the scene retains its shape and regularity while embracing the curve of the wrist.