Van Cleef & Arpels | Van Cleef & Arpels 2011 S.I.H.H. Report!

Van Cleef & Arpels

A poetic world of time, woven with the finest precious materials and craftsmanship.
This year, the theme is travel, with adventure stories gracing timepieces.

Van Cleef & Arpels continues to design watches and jewelry based on fantastical themes, creating unique works. This time, the motifs chosen are stories depicting four "extraordinary journeys" from the works of Jules Verne, the quintessential French adventure novelist: "Five Weeks in a Balloon," "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas," "Journey to the Center of the Earth," and "Around the Moon."

Text by Yasuto Shibuya

Among the prestigious Maisons gathered at the Geneva Salons, Van Cleef & Arpels excels in creating watches and jewelry with fantastical themes. In particular, for the past few years, they have adopted "Poetry of Time" as the unifying theme for their collections, developing unique and beautiful collections unlike any other Maison. These collections express the forms that fleeting time creates and the various emotions it evokes, using complex mechanisms, the highest quality gemstones, and masterful techniques such as miniature enameling. The romantic depiction of time in the 2010 "Poetic Complication Pont des Amoureux," which mechanically portrayed lovers sharing a kiss twice a day on a bridge, is still fresh in our memory.

And in 2011, Nicolas Bos, the Creative Director, chose as the collection's motif stories of four "extraordinary journeys" written by Jules Verne, the quintessential French adventure novelist: "Five Weeks in a Balloon," "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas," "Journey to the Center of the Earth," and "Around the Moon." The worlds of these masterpieces, considered the origin of modern science fiction and which have nurtured the "power of dreams" in children worldwide since their publication in the 19th century, are expressed as unparalleled "artworks of time" through the dream collaboration of the finest artisans at Van Cleef & Arpels, including watchmakers, gem cutters, engravers, and enamellers.

The main piece is a complication model inspired by "Five Weeks in a Balloon." Additionally, there is a special set of 22 pieces worldwide, featuring four men's watches, each with a dial depicting the world of one of the four works using the Pailleté enamel technique, presented in a special box.

This collection is noteworthy for featuring a men's model as its flagship for the first time with this theme. Whether you are a man or a woman, if you pride yourself on being an adult who never forgets the spirit of adventure and possesses the power to dream, we highly recommend taking a look.

Poetic Complication "Five Weeks in a Balloon"
A grand adventure circumnavigating the globe on the wind, expressed with champlevé enamel, mother-of-pearl, and retrograde display.

"Five Weeks in a Balloon," a lengthy adventure novel published in 1863 by Jules Verne (1828-1905), depicts three Englishmen exploring Africa in a hot air balloon. This complication model is inspired by that balloon. The scene shortly after the balloon's takeoff from Zanzibar, an island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of the African continent, is beautifully and three-dimensionally depicted using champlevé enamel and mother-of-pearl, showing the balloon and clouds in the sky. The "bird" motif hand on the left side of the dial and the anchor motif hand on the right side of the dial indicate the hours and minutes, respectively, in a retrograde manner (moving back and forth vertically). The mechanical movement was developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre specifically for this model. A jewelry model with diamonds set on the bezel is also available.

Manual winding, 42mm diameter white gold case, alligator strap. 12 million yen. Arrival date undecided.

Lady Arpels African Landscapes Elephant Décor
The figures of a parent and child elephant, encountered by the three adventurers, depicted on the dial.

One of four ladies' watches created with motifs of the plants, animals, and nature discovered in Africa after the balloon reached its skies, inspired by the novel. The dial features a charming parent and child elephant family in the savanna, rendered with mother-of-pearl inlay, sculpted white gold, and champlevé enamel set with diamonds. The manual winding movement is by Piaget. The other three models depict parent and child giraffes, parent and child antelopes, and parent and child hippopotamuses, respectively. All are wonderfully finished, conveying the affection of parent and child, just like this model.

Manual winding, 38mm diameter white gold case with diamonds on the bezel, alligator strap. Limited to 22 pieces worldwide. 10.4 million yen. Arrival date undecided.

Lady Arpels Polar Landscapes White Bear Décor
A polar bear parent and cubs, living on the Antarctic continent, depicted on the dial.

Although not in the original work, Van Cleef & Arpels has specially created a chapter for this adventure journey: an expedition to the Antarctic continent, and the "Polar Landscapes" series of four works depicts the animals encountered during this journey. This is one of them, portraying the charming figures of a mother polar bear and her two cubs resting on the ice floe. Similar to "African Landscapes," it is crafted using techniques of mother-of-pearl inlay, sculpted white gold, and champlevé enamel set with diamonds. The other three models depict parent and child seals, parent and child penguins, and parent and child whales, respectively. They too are splendidly finished, conveying the affection of parent and child.

Manual winding, 38mm diameter white gold case with diamonds on the bezel, alligator strap. Limited to 22 pieces worldwide. 10.4 million yen. Arrival date undecided.

Vacheron Constantin | See the new models from SIHH 2011

Van Cleef & Arpels
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