Introducing Van Cleef & Arpels’ new Perlée Extraordinaire Fruits Enchantés watches featuring the brand’s patented façonné enamel and other métiers d’arts.
Van Cleef & Arpels is showing the fruits of their labor—literally. The dials of two new timepieces in the brand’s Extraordinary Dials collection depict raspberries and blueberries in an idyllic, enchanted forest setting. The watches highlight Van Cleef’s recently patented enameling and legendary goldsmithing techniques.
The colorful new Precious Berries Myrtille and Framboise timepieces (blueberry and raspberry in English) designs are dedicated to “the vitality of nature, a source of inspiration that has been dear to the Maison since its founding,” according to the brand. “These watches depict enchanting tableaux in which façonné enamel gives shape to sun-kissed berries’ ample curves.”
A Unique Approach
“We have a unique vision of watchmaking,” says Rainer Bernard, the Geneva-based director of research and development for Van Cleef & Arpels’ watch division. “Our watches are quite different and we love to do that and we will keep on doing that.”
Different, indeed. The new watches are a product of years of technique development and trial and error. Van Cleef & Arpels exercises patience when it comes to crafting perfection. In fact, the brand has two schools housed within its manufacture in Geneva. “We have two in-house schools in this [watchmaking] building,” Bernard says. “We have a sculpture and an enamel school. We have teachers and apprentices in the schools, and these apprentices need between three and four years of training to pass our exam. We also use our school to increase the know-how and to maintain the know-how of our craftspeople because of the innovation we need,” to craft the jewelry watches.
Ever-Expanding Expertise
“We need to maintain the know-how at the high levels—the expertise of miniature painters, stone-setters, enamelers, engravers and lapidaries combine to bring the pieces to life.”
The conception of a new watch begins with a story. “At the beginning, we talk about stories, like birds feeding little birds or lovers meeting, and we just have sketches,” Bernard says. After feasibility discussions regarding the watch’s architecture and confirming that it can be achieved technically, “in all, it takes about four years to craft a new timepiece incorporating the brand’s métiers d’art. “We always push the limit of what is feasible at Van Cleef & Arpels.”
Polished to Perfection
Van Cleef & Arpels introduced its patented façonné enameling technique in 2023. Enamel powder is poured into a mold and then fired twice. The resulting enamel is then carved and polished, resulting in a three-dimensional form. A final glaze is applied at a high temperature, giving the berries an exceptionally smooth surface.
In addition to the colorful fruit and handpainted green foliage, the brand’s signature fairies sculpted in gold (18K white gold for the raspberries and 18K rose gold for the blueberries) adorn the watches’ dials, adding a sense of whimsy. “These playful figures toy with time’s passage,” according to Van Cleef. The case back of the Myrtille watch is engraved with a butterfly, while the Framboise timepiece features an engraving of a ladybug.
Inside the watches, a highly precise mechanical movement ensures accurate timekeeping. “We engrave a golden fairy on each movement [in the jewelry watches],” Bernard says. Even inside the watches’ case, the Van Cleef whimsy continues.