“This event is always an opportunity for us to tell our story and to showcase our Poetic Complications, such as the Pont des Amoureux collection,” said Catherine Rénier, President & CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, of the brand’s regular appearance at Watches & Wonders in Geneva. It was there, for the 2025 presentation last week, that the historic watch maison revealed a suite of new pieces to honor time’s complex and poetic meaning. From Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate and Cadenas to the Ruban Mystérieux watch, each new piece reaffirms the brand’s place at the intersection of watchmaking and high jewelry.
Art Direction by Gaspard Yurkievich and Guido Voss, photo by Lajeunie, courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels.
“These watches, created in 2010 and reinvented in several color variations, have become a signature of the maison over the years. They embody the ‘Poetry of Time’ dear to Van Cleef & Arpels—its mechanical expertise and its attachment to métiers d’art—while expressing one of its founding sources of inspiration: love.”
Van Cleef & Arpels’s Poetic Complications
Art Direction by Gaspard Yurkievich and Guido Voss, photo by Lajeunie, courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels.
Van Cleef & Arpels continues its legacy with its latest “Poetic Complications,” seamlessly blending mechanical innovation and artistic expression. First introduced in 2010, the “Pont des Amoureux collection” expands with new variations that depict a love story set against the backdrop of Paris. These timepieces feature a double retrograde movement that brings two lovers together for a kiss at both noon and midnight—an unmissable and romantic on-demand animation.
Special for the brand is the launch of the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate watch, too, which adds a new layer of sophistication to the brand’s automaton expertise. This watch transports its wearers to a Parisian guinguette, where a couple meets under the glow of lanterns, thanks to a newly developed movement that allows them to embrace, enhanced by the delicate use of grisaille enamel. Requiring meticulous craftsmanship, this technique creates a stunning chiaroscuro effect, capturing the charm of an evening under the stars in Paris.
Materials and Automatons: Naissance de l’Amour and the Planétarium
Art Direction by Gaspard Yurkievich and Guido Voss, photo by Lajeunie, courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels.
Continuing its tradition of creating extraordinary objects, Van Cleef & Arpels unveils two breathtaking automata that blend fine jewelry with horological mastery. The Naissance de l’Amour automaton brings Cupid to life in a dazzling display of movement and artistry. Crafted in white, rose, and yellow gold, the piece features a cherub emerging from a basket of feathers, fluttering its plique-à-jour enamel wings while a melody plays. The automaton’s base is made from iron eye stone and petrified palmwood, rare materials chosen to enhance its organic beauty. A rotating ring, adorned with diamonds and lacquered feathers, discreetly indicates the time.
The Planétarium automaton, another new mechanism, expands Van Cleef & Arpels’ “Poetic Astronomy” collection. This masterpiece presents a ballet of the Sun and the planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth (with its Moon), Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—that moves following its actual orbital period. The animation, set in motion by an on-demand complication, is accompanied by a shooting star that marks the time, gliding across a 24-hour dial. The automaton’s base, crafted from precious woods and gemstones, adds to its charm, while the Sun’s core brings the cosmos to life with diamonds and spessartite garnets.
Timeless Icons: Cadenas, Ruban Mystérieux, and More
Art Direction by Gaspard Yurkievich and Guido Voss, photo by Lajeunie, courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels.
Rooted in its high jewelry heritage, Van Cleef & Arpels avers its ability to meet elegance with watchmaking ingenuity with its latest Cadenas watch—a design founded in 1935. Inspired by a padlock, this modern interpretation allows its wearer to read time discreetly, nodding to the era when women were expected to disregard the passage of time. This year’s edition features a yellow gold bracelet with a case entirely set with snow-paved diamonds and a row of princess-cut sapphires.
Another showstopper is the Ruban Mystérieux watch, which takes inspiration from couture. This high jewelry timepiece mimics the drape of ribbon, with a breathtaking 3.72-carat oval-cut diamond at its center and a watch face hidden beneath it. The new design also showcases the maison’s patented Mystery Set technique, where sapphires and emeralds are placed within gold rails for an invisibility factor, creating a seamless and truly striking surface.
