Van Cleef & Arpels have long been recognised as one of the world’s most creative high jewellery houses. Taking inspiration from nature, magic and fairy tales, the Parisian Maison creates complex jewels of unusually high technical and design content – so that even the most extravagant pieces have a lightness, charm and wit. In recent years, Van Cleef & Arpels have also become recognised for their artistic and highly creative watches. But it is no mere arriviste in the world of horology. In the 1920s the famously elegant Louis Arpels designed the Ruban (‘ribbon’) watch, with a rectangular case that formed an unbroken line with the links of its gold bracelet. A 1927 pocket watch with a double retrograde display featured a robed Chinese Mandarin on the dial, whose arms indicate the hours on one side and the minutes on the other. Having coined the phrase “Jewels that tell the Time”, Van Cleef & Arpels have always endeavoured to blur the lines between high jewellery and horology. However, a decision made in 2006 has radically changed the Maison’s stature in watchmaking. Stanislas de Quercize, then the CEO, asked Nicolas Bos (Creative Director at the time, Bos succeeded de Quercize as…
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