Page 57 - SHARP November 2025

C A MIDNIGHT
IN PARIS
THE VAN CLEEF & ARPELS LADY ARPELS
& R CELEBRATION OF LOVE AND WATCHMAKING
By Jeremy Freed
THE MAIN FUNCTION OF A WATCH MAY BE TO DISPLAY
NCT ut mec d
TH M OF ou IN F NCTI N OF A WATCH MA e o ’v y
sk don lled aut l a t a w e y po ys. a av ys. have ca is centuries. Because their movements require enough power to drive
automata while keeping precise time, however, modern examples
wee s
on mat & rp fa an o h o n on ( d h
d o d
o K h e on gold case), all the more alluring.
Van C e f & Ar r q g a b te pe tart s o th s a , a ve
s r n f n i ale maison’s Pont des Amoureux collection, in which two lovers meet
e s r e e s r e kis fo u a e f e a u a e f e a n an r h o oud s s e n i wa l d lso incl t n s t o and minutes — is no small feat. To animate the characters of the
Ba on a l w h t t l w h t t process that took four years of research and development. “We wanted
nd he lat y
sk nd e i i o t ca ry ot ch was was ui de L de the mi 1 V st 18 el ls pro th jewellery business, their union led to the founding of Van Cleef &
ar e, wo cta ular c eli tor tor y
of ti s es th l a c u a s t an qu We n- We so o p o p en s d t re s. ” ch t’s e ” effort to put into a single timepiece, but as with the best automata
watches over the centuries, timekeeping is only one part of the story.
EF M V 2 0 2 5
M Z R . O A C 7 8 7 9