The new Lady Arpels Casse-Noisette and Lady Arpels Belle au Bois Dormant watches joyfully invite onlookers to a pas de deux through veritable miniature tableaux. This year, tradition and innovation unite through new enamelling techniques developed by the Maison
The art of movement par excellence, dance is a longstanding source of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels, particularly in the Extraordinary Dials collection. Nurturing its imagination and endlessly renewing its pursuit of excellence, the Maison offers an interpretation of two iconic 19th-century ballets. True to Van Cleef & Arpels’ unique vision of the Poetry of Time, each piece combines métiers d’art, jewellery expertise, and watchmaking savoir-faire to evoke dreams and wonder.
Van Cleef & Arpels and ballet
The bond between Van Cleef & Arpels and dance dates back to 1920s Paris. Louis Arpels loved to visit the Opéra Garnier, located a short walk from the Place Vendôme boutique, and passed on his passion for the ballet to his nephew Claude. The Maison’s first ballerina clips were created in the early 1940s, soon becoming Van Cleef & Arpels signature pieces.
Their aerial postures and the beauty of their attire immediately captivated collectors. Featuring a gold or diamond face complemented by a precious head ornament, dancers are depicted with point shoes and a tutu made of diamonds or coloured stones that seem to flow, echoing their movements. Since then, the world of dance has continued to influence the Maison’s High Jewellery and Watchmaking creations, bringing forth a multitude of ballerinas. Some pay tribute to famous pieces, like the Lady Arpels Ballerines Musicales watches, or to legendary figures such as Anna Pavlova, the prima ballerina who inspired the 2013 Lady Arpels Ballerine Enchantée watch.
Lady Arpels Casse-Noisette
First performed in 1892, Marius Petipa’s “Casse-Noisette” can be traced back to the original German fairytale by Romanticism extraordinaire Hoffmann. Petipa’s ballet sees its ballerina’s dreams carried by Tchaikovsky’s sparkling and colourful score. Meanwhile, on this piece, she and her prince, with faces of rose-cut diamonds, are adorned with miniature painted costumes accompanying their movements. The two figures seem to come to life against a winter landscape of tart hues. This tableau emerges from the convergence of High Jewellery and métiers d’art skills mastered at the Van Cleef & Arpels Watchmaking Workshops in Geneva.
This timepiece encases a spectrum of 70 different colours, finishes, and enamelling techniques coming together to make the Van Cleef & Arpels’ richest creation to date. Like a miniature work of art, the dial displays a complex work of volume and depth as it presents a multifaceted scene. A ballet of precious and ornamental stones combining diamonds, coloured sapphires, blue tourmalines, onyx, sugilite, and lapis lazuli recreates the poetry of a waking dream. New techniques developed by the Maison in 2023 reveal a true play of perspective as shaped enamel beads joyfully dot the dial. “Candies” in relief are embedded in the shaped enamel discs assembled using the sealed enamel process, pioneered by Van Cleef & Arpels. The story continues on the white gold case back, where a hand-engraved winter landscape of snowflakes and fir trees complements the spirit of this snowy tale.
Lady Arpels Belle au bois dormant
Created in 1980, the ballet “La Belle au bois dormant” sets Marius Petipa’s choreography to Tchaikovsky’s score, bringing life to a gem of the classical canon. Princess Aurora falls under the spell of the fairy Carabosse, plunging her into a hundred-year slumber. Here, with her rose-cut diamond face, the princess in a tutu reunites with her prince charming in miniature painting, freeing her from the spell. In an arabesque, she leans towards him to exchange a kiss. Against the backdrop of a hand-engraved rose gold castle, ribbons of white gold, diamonds, and champlevé enamel unfold. In a tender shade of pink, these ribbons seem to ripple in the light like velvet. Plique-à-jour enamel sun rays radiate on the lower part of the dial, enhancing the perspective effect.
As nature gradually awakens from its long slumber, it blooms into lilac flowers, combining matte vallonné enamel with the brilliance of sapphires. Lilac branches crown the composition, thanks to the three-dimensional shaped enamel technique, developed and patented by Van Cleef & Arpels. The scene is adorned with six gemstones – ruby, violet sapphire, diamond, yellow sapphire, spessartite garnet, and emerald – each representing a benevolent fairy watching over the lovers. The tale continues on the rose gold case back, where a hand-engraved decor depicting the dancer’s slumber amidst lush nature illustrates the extent of the savoir-faire behind the engraving.
The Poetry of Time
Ever faithful to a poetic view of life that it has upheld since its founding, Van Cleef & Arpels instils a distinctive dimension into the art of watchmaking: that of dreams and emotions. At the crossroads of inventiveness and fantasy, its creations interpret the measurement of time as an invitation to imagine, wander and revel in happiness. The Maison draws into its history and its emblematic sources of inspiration to depict the poetry of each and every moment. Creations evoking the heritage of Van Cleef & Arpels live on side by side with new stories of love and luck. Ballerinas and fairies tick away the hours, while the rhythm of nature meets the cadence of the cosmos. Each piece, like the various watch collections themselves, tells a timely tale of grace and enchantment.
The Van Cleef & Arpels enamel workshop
Elevating the passage of time, the métiers d’art play their part in creating a poetic and enchanting universe on the wrist. In its watchmaking workshops in Geneva, Van Cleef & Arpels keeps these skills alive, notably through an enamel workshop and a training school. In addition to ancestral methods, the Maison stands out in the development of enamelling techniques, creating decorations imbued with relief and vitality. Each new challenge, sometimes requiring years of research and development, fulfils the project by Van Cleef & Arpels’ Design Studio. A dialogue between science and art emerges, balancing technical and stylistic demands, in service of the story told by the watch.
Enamel, between tradition and innovation
A true art of fire, enamelling is born when enamels – consisting of silica powder and pigments – meet the flame of the kiln. Enamelled motifs come to life through a series of steps, endowing each piece with intense colours and vivid brilliance. Among the complex techniques patented by Van Cleef & Arpels in 2023, shaped enamel brings to life a miniature sculpture with finely defined contours.
At a high temperature, the material is delicately poured onto a plate, then sculpted in multiple stages by cutting to achieve a three-dimensional form. After low-temperature firing that eliminates constraints – the tensions formed in the material – the enamel is carefully glazed at over 500 degrees Celsius (930 degrees Fahrenheit). Its surface then smoothens and takes on shine, as if polished. The entire process achieves a striking visual effect of volume and transparency.
Another technique developed by Van Cleef & Arpels, sealed enamel requires great expertise and mastery. Two pre-shaped enamel elements are assembled edge to edge through an extremely precise fusion process. Starting in a cold oven, the firing follows a defined temperature curve for about twelve hours, with several tiered rises and falls. This innovative process thus seals two enamels together without the use of glue or metal. The differently coloured motifs then form a single relief ensemble, contrasted and finely demarcated.
