For the first time in Australia, Van Cleef & Arpels is bringing a dedicated pop-up to Chadstone, Melbourne, to celebrate the Poetry of Time.
Poetry of Time is Van Cleef & Arpels is at the forefront of their watchmaking as they blend inventiveness and fantasy together to create enchanting timepieces. From July 17th to 30th 2024, Van Cleef & Arpels as a first for the Australian market, will highlight some of their most emblematic timepieces. These creations will be displayed at the timepiece pop up in the Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne.
The pop-up will display up to 40 watches, showcasing Van Cleef & Arpels poetic world through the different universes and stories that are dear to the brand, such as Love Stories, Enchanting Nature and Poetic Astronomy. Each timepiece that will be present depicts a moment of grace and enchantment, expressing Van Cleef & Arpels’ unique Poetry of Time. Time is expressed through movements of nature, feminine figures and love stories that come to life beneath the glass of the dials.
Visitors will also be treated to pop up special, with Van Cleef & Arpels stating that “Visitors to the pop up may choose to share a heartfelt letter to their loved ones, with the option to either take home, or post on-site a bespoke Van Cleef & Arpels’ postcard. The postcard is available in an array of Parisian cityscape imagery as captured through the Maison’s romantic lense.”
The timepieces on display show Van Cleef & Arpels history and their emblematic sources of inspiration that convey “poetry” of each and every moment. In the timepieces we are treated to the poetic dance of Fairies and ballerinas ticking away the hours, along with the rythem of nature as it meets the cadance of the cosmos.
While there will be lot of timepeices of show depicting poetic artistry of Van Cleef & Arpels, we have outlined below some stand out models that you will not want to miss!
Pont Des Amoureux Collection
The Concept of the Pont Des Amoureux Collection is to celebrate love and intense feeling of a long-awaited rendezvous. The image portrayed on the dial is that of a young woman and young boy meeting on a bridge in Paris, united in tender affection. The timepiece features a unique retrograde movement to announce the hours and minutes. Whats special about this movement is that young boy and woman approach each other in animation, to share a romantic kiss at noon and midnight!
Van Cleef & Arpels has made it so, so that the the poetry of this animation can be viewed at any time, through an on-demand module that allows the wearer to replay the romantic scene.
Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Jour watch
This version of the Lady Arpels Pont Des Amoureux Jour watch comes in a 38mm rose gold case, with a rose gold bezel and crown. The bezel is also adorned with round diamonds, highligthing the timepeice’s luxury feel. The dial is a coloured grisaille enamel painted dial, which depicts the two lovers meeting on the bridge to share a kiss. This version of the timepeice, however, is set during the daytime, where we can see a cloudy sky in the backdrop of Paris city.
Tender Seasons
Van Cleef & Arpels Tender Seasons collection is a different take on the Pont Des Amoureux watch. This time, what we are treated to is the two lovers meeting on the bridge all year long. A series of jewellery watches make up this collection, whereby the two lovers rendezvous amid a decor of diverse seasonal colours and motifs.
Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Automne watch
The Lady Arpels Pont Des Amoureux Automne watch comes in a 38mm yellow gold case, which perfectly accentuate’s the summer feel to the timepeice. Once again, the timepeice features diamonds on the bezel, which blends in nicely with the beautiful imagery shown on the dial. This imagery is a coloured grisaille enamel dial with yellow gold for the bridge. Summertime in paris is beatfdully shown in a artistic sense, by using colours such as yellow, orange and other warm nuetral tones. The timepiece comes with a yellow gold strap which has round yellow sapphires, round spessartite garnets and round diamonds, depicting imagery of flowers on the bracelet.
Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Été watch
Another vibrant timepiece belonging to the Tender Seasons collection is the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Été watch. This time, the watch is presented in a 38mm white gold case, bezel and crown. The coloured grisaille enamel miniature painting this time shows the beauty of the fall season in Paris. The greenery of the trees, leaves and plants stand out nicely due to the vibrant green colour. The bracelet of the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Été watch is done in white gold, featuring round yellow sapphires and round spessartite garnets.
Enchanting Nature
Nature is a cherised inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels. Since the brand’s beginnings, the poetry and vitality of nature has been infused into many of their creations. Intimately linked to the passing of time, this theme comes out in many of Van Cleef & Arpels’ watch collections, including the brand’s Enchanting Nature collection.
Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier watch
Out of the different timepieces from the Enchanting Nature collection that will be on display at the pop up in Chadstone, the Lady Arpels Heures Florales Cerisier watch stands out for its colourful imagery with springlike heus. Petals and butterflies in miniature painting, branches in sculpted gold and clouds crafted in mother-of-pearl are all enhanced by meticulously set gemstones.
The passing of time is displayed in these three-dimensional dials with the openinig and closing of twelve corollas. Telling time becomes a spectacle as the flowers blossom and close, recreating the scenery of the dial every 60 minutes. This is a techincal feat of engineering, as it is quite a challenge of combining so many modules, with module having a flower that has a opening and closing mechanism. With each passing hour, the open flowers close to make way for a new combination as time sweeps by to the rhythm of nature.
Poetic Astronomy
Another concept that has been constant throughout Van Cleef & Arpels history is their representations of the sky and cosmos. These visualisations are a source of dreams and escape for many. Over the years, this theme has been shown through many different Van Cleef & Arpel creations, including the Poetic Astronomy collection of timepieces.
Midnight Planétarium watch
The Midnight Planétarium watch houses a special self-winding mechanical movement, which features an exclusive module that has been designed in collaboration with Christian van der Klaauw. The timepiece is a stunning display of the cosmos, with the wrist becoming a theatre for a miniaturised ballet of the Sun and its neighbouring planets. Each of the heavenly bodies move at its actual ryhthm in space, making their way around the dial over time. A major feat of technical design, the Moon itself rotates around the Earth in 29.5 days on the Lady Arpels Planétarium dial, creating a celestial choreography renewed daily. All of this is encased in a 44mm case in white gold set with diamonds, proving the elegance to a visual masterpiece.
With many more timepieces like this on show, Van Cleef & Arpels pop up in Chadstone is sure to be a delight to the visual senses with not only artistic display but also the technical marvel of the animations on the dial. Don’t miss your chance to be in the few in Australia that get to see Van Cleef & Arpels Poetry of Time creations!
