For the 2023 Watches and Wonders salon, Van Cleef & Arpels is bringing all of its expertise to bear on a unique vision of timekeeping. Blending different know-how, the Maison perpetuates and enriches its history of jewels that tell time with creations combining jewelry and watchmaking traditions. The jewelry watches from the Perlée and Alhambra collections unveil new combinations of meticulously selected gems, while the skills of Van Cleef & Arpels’ Workshops are on full display in the Ludo Secret and the À Cheval High Jewelry watches. Dials captivate the gaze with their reflections or thanks to surprising and mesmerizing plays of hide and seek.

At the crossroads of traditional craft skills and technical expertise that distinguishes the Maison’s Watchmaking Workshops in Geneva, the Lady Féerie watch reinvents itself in harmonious new colors to manifest Van Cleef & Arpels’ unique Poetry of Time. Three Extraordinary Objects complete this dive into the heart of rare skills, marrying craftsmanship with a quest for motion to enchant the passing hours.

Culminating on the wrist or hanging from the neck, Van Cleef & Arpels precious watches combine jewelry know-how and watchmaking expertise to offer time an elegant setting. The pieces reinterpret the emblematic aesthetics of the Perlée and Alhambra collections in a bold and contemporary way, giving rise to new combinations of materials, carefully chosen for their color and quality. Depending on the creations, precious or ornamental stones and diamonds interact with gold, worked in delicate beads or radiant guilloché.

Van Cleef & Arpels highlights the signature aesthetic of the Perlée collection through new timepiece variations. Five timeless models marry gentle curves with subtle details, watchmaking savoir-faire with jewelry-making inspiration to offer a contemporary take on jewelry that tells time.

In fluid lines, the watches bear a round shape bordered with a double row of golden beads displaying their side in mirror-polished rose gold or diamond-paved white gold. Under their rounded glass, the dials are adorned with a décor of pavé-set diamonds, or guilloché rose gold or mother-of pearl, each capturing light for an intense sparkle. A push-button behind the case sets the time and remains invisible while the watch is being worn.

Four of the five models have a 23mm diameter case, with the fifth being 30mm. Each creation comes with an interchangeable alligator strap, along with a choice of a second one from the collection. A jewelry bracelet, fully composed of articulated golden beads echoing the beaded contour of the case, is also offered in a jewelry watch spirit. It follows every wrist movement like a second skin, ensuring that the Perlée watches are comfortable to wear. The straps can be easily changed matching the wearer’s mood.

The diamonds set on these creations meet the highest quality criteria – D to F for color and IF to VVS for clarity – in order to bring intense brilliance to the dial. A strict selection is also made by experts gemologists for the mother-of-pearl, whose delicate iridescence is enhanced by the guillochage.