The Blooms

There is a very interesting story behind the concept of a watch made of flowers, and it comes not from a watchmaker but from a botanist. Carl von Linné (known as Carl Linnaeus before his ennoblement) published a book in 1751 entitled Philosophia Botanica, and in it he describes a fantastical garden created from plants with flowers that open and close during different moments of the day. With precise selections and care, the garden would become a kind of living clock as the flowers tell time with their natural rhythm of response to light and atmosphere.

This proposal sparked the imagination of the watchmakers at Van Cleef & Arpels, and they have responded with two new timepieces that bring the idea of blooming flowers and telling time together in a mechanical interpretation of von Linné’s floral clock. The Lady Arpels Heures Florales uses a colorway of summer blues and greens, while the Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier is a riot of spring pinks and reds.

The three-dimensional dial is comprised of 12 corollas that blossom and close using a random pattern for infinite variety and fascination. Through the course of an hour, there is a dance of blooming floral design with a reset every 60 minutes. The execution of such a feat involved using no less than 226 mobile elements and setting them in motion on the dial. Each minuscule petal is designed with articulation and its own connection to the watch mechanism that drives its movement.

The Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier begins with a 38mm case in rose gold and the white mother-of-pearl dial features pink and red flowers and pink sapphires. The springtime blooms are visited by delicate blue butterflies, an iconic representation of Van Cleef & Arpels.

On both versions, golden branches twine behind the flowers to provide some texture and add to the sense of a living garden. White diamonds circle the bezel and, in the center of the flowers, yellow and white diamonds provide a touch of glamor and sparkle to the overall effect.

Tech Specs

Lady Arpels Heures Florales

Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier

The Dancers

This year, Van Cleef & Arpels is releasing two new pieces for the Lady Arpels Ballerines Enchantée collection. The two pieces bring new attitude and poise to the dancer’s silhouette, and the skirt is crafted to reveal a butterfly’s wings when extended. This combination of dancer and butterfly is inspired by a quote from Anna Pavlova: “I dreamed that I was a ballerina, and that I spent my life dancing as light as a butterfly…” The graceful dancer’s face, headdress, bust and waist are suggested by diamonds, and her elegant body is crafted from white gold.

The Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée Rose Gold features the dancer with a skirt of softer plique-à-jour enamel in blues and pinks against a guilloché pink dial and surrounded by a rose gold and diamond 40mm case. The rose gold version is paired with a vibrant purple alligator strap.

Tech Specs

Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée

Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée Rose Gold

In each retrograde timepiece, a second set of translucent enameled veils rise on-demand to indicate the time and create the illusion of a set of delicate butterfly wings against the radiating guilloché backgrounds. The tutu action can be triggered with a press of the button positioned at eight o’clock that raises half of the petticoat in a fluid motion to indicate the hour for a few seconds, then the second half will rise to indicate the minutes for a few seconds and thus reveal the butterfly fairy wings as well as the time. Both will then return to their starting position, returning the dancer to her human form.

Lions and Rabbits

Van Cleef & Arpels have always been partial to scenes of fauna, and this time they feature two tableaus lifted from the deep savannah with stories depicted from a beautiful and unexpected palette of precious stone and gems. These two new models are featured in the Extraordinary Dials collection. The pieces are designed as miniature works of art featuring a pair of animals, one of lions and another of rabbits. Each pair shares a long gaze of companionship and connection against a background of jewel and enamel detail.

The Lady Duo de Lions features a pair of lions, a standing male in white gold with full mane gazing at his yellow gold lady as she reclines on a plain of diamonds and pink sapphires. A river of turquoise and a plateau of onyx marquetry create a far distant background beneath a sun of mirror- polished and guillochéd rose gold. Mother-of-pearl clouds float gently above the scene.

Tech Specs

Lady Duo De Lions

Lady Duo De Lapins

The Poetry of Motion