Van Cleef & Arpels are famous for their uniquely designed timepieces that reflect the signature poetry of the time. Now, the Maison has released two High Jewelry timepieces from their Sous Les Étoiles High Jewelry Collection. The Sous Les Étoiles High Jewelry Collection is all about the cosmos and the heavenly dreams that come along with it. This collection goes back to Van Cleef & Arpels source of inspiration for their watches. The collection has 150 High Jewelry creations that depict the universe in the eyes of astronomers, writers, and artists with plenty of imagination.
One of the timepieces chosen from Van Cleef & Arpels collections to be part of the Sous Les Étoiles High Jewelry Collection is the feminine Lady Arpels Planétarium model. The bracelet for Planétarium High Jewelry Timepiece is set entirely with precious stones. The dial is purely mesmerising. The universe comes to life with the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Earth and its Moon all being beautifully portrayed by a watch module that’s developed in partnership with Christiaan van der Klaauw. With the true poetic grace that Van Cleef & Arpels is known for, the time is told through the circular trajectory of the shooting star on the dial.
The majestic dial is equally matched by the intensity of the bracelet with the graduation of blue sapphires and black spinels. The “astral bodies” are shown in a three-dimensional volume by diamonds, spessartite garnets, and coloured sapphires. To create this heavenly universe on the wrist, required 1,370 hours of work, which brings together high jewellery and watchmaking in the finest way possible.
The second piece chosen to be in the collection is the Galaxie Secrete. This timepiece was specially designed to show a spiral of galaxies leading to something truly special at its heart. The spiral features include rows of diamonds that alternate between blue, pink, and mauve sapphires. The spirals lead to the centre, which showcases an oval blue sapphire of 8.05 carats. The intense blue of this sapphire is magnified thanks to the surrounding baguette-cut diamonds.
The time is shown in a small dial on the bottom right corner of this timepiece, with only the hour and minutes being displayed. The dial is also covered by more blue, pink, and mauve sapphires. Well over 1600 hours were spent to create this timepiece, with it also showing reference to Van Cleef & Arpels past from the 1940s, where they created Tourbillon earrings, rings, and bracelets.
With countless hours spent on these exquisite creations, Van Cleef & Arpels can show the dance of the planets and celestial figures through the Planétarium High Jewelry Timepiece and the Galaxie Secrete. Bringing together two highly intricate artforms of jewellery making and watchmaking, Van Cleef & Arpels can show the heavens on your wrist, in all their beauty.
