Dubai Watch Week 2023: Artistic Van Cleef & Arpels Timepieces on Display at the Brand’s Poetry of Time Exhibition

Iconic French jewellery brand Van Cleef & Arpels has made a spectacular debut at the sixth edition of the Dubai Watch Week. The brand has brought to the emirate an immersive exhibition, called the Poetry of Time, which is set to transport visitors to a world where the Maison’s poetic, patrimonial collections come to life. Its iconic collections are on display for visitors to the watch gala, which will end on November 20. 

GMT India takes a closer look at the timepieces that are drawing crowds at the Poetry of Time exhibition. 

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Ludo Secret Watches

Unveiled at Watches and Wonders earlier this year, the Ludo Secret collection carries forward the Maison’s love affair with mystery. The dial is cleverly hidden, making the jewellery piece versatile as well as functional. The collection offers two variations: one where rose gold is paired with diamonds and the other where rose gold teams up with vivid pink sapphires. The watch bracelet is flexible with a brick-pattern meshwork, reminiscent of a belt. 

The collection also includes a version that is inspired by the 1941 Ludo Hexagone Macaron secret watch. An emerald Mystery Set motif conceals the dial, a captivating design characterised by its intense colour effect and complexity. For its part, the bracelet is composed of a meshwork of yellow gold hexagons, punctuated with star-set emeralds.

Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales

Blending music with motion, the Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales captures the enchanting grace of ballet and music. Van Cleef & Arpels has recreated the three-dimensional tableau of an actual theatre stage that reflects the full wonder of ballet. The dial’s upper half is covered with diamonds, drawing inspiration from sparkling chandeliers and lavish curtains. The dial also features sculpted, engraved, and hand-painted draperies that reveal ethereal ballerinas as part of a miniature painting. Each piece is crafted with a unique blend of stones and motifs. While the Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Émeraude timepiece reflects green nuances, the Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Rubis watch radiates elegant red hues. The Lady Arpels Ballerine Musicale Diamant watch sparkles with intense white, blue, and golden hues.

Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée ​​

An emblematic creation of the Maison, the Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée watch won the Lady’s Complication Prize at GPHG in 2013, when it was launched. In 2022, the brand reinvented it with two new pieces. The new interpretations of the piece are suffused with contemporary aesthetics and grace, with one in white gold and the other in rose gold. The silhouette of the dancer has been redefined, with her posture taking on a dynamic attitude, while the flounces of her tutu unfurl in new materials and colours. The white gold version comes with a diamond-paved bracelet. 

Lady Arpels Heures Florales and Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier

Forming a part of the Poetic Complications collection, these timepieces bring a story to life on the dial. The timepieces feature a retrograde movement, a flower opening module, and a minute window that enables time to be measured via a ströll in a flower garden. With each passing hour, the open flowers close to make room for a new combination on the dial. 

Pont des Amoureux Collection

This collection is a love letter to the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, informally called the ‘Love Lock’ bridge. ‘Love’ remains one of the founding themes of the Maison as it was founded on Paris’ Place Vendôme in 1906, following Estelle Arpels’s marriage to Alfred Van Cleef. In this collection, the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Jour watch depicts two lovers in the glow of night-time in Paris. Time is told poetically when the young lady moves forward progressively, marking the hours, while her beloved crosses his half of the bridge in 60 minutes. Midday and midnight are marked by the lovers kissing. The watch has seen various iterations, like the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Printemps watch and the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Hiver watch.

The Lady Féerie or Rose Watch

Launched at the Watches and Wonders 2023, a palette of delicate pinks graces the new Lady Féerie watch. ‍The passing of time is marked with a fairy using her magic wand in a soft, dreamy tableau. She is seated on an iridescent cloud of white mother-of-pearl, donning a dress of diamonds and pink sapphires. Her wings are coated with a powdery gradient, achieved by combining a translucent pink plique-à-jour enamel with an opaque pink enamel.

Apart from the timepieces, the Floraison du Nénuphar and the Éveil du Cyclamen will be on display at the exhibition, celebrating the Maison’s expertise in automata.