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Love is in the air at Van Cleef & Arpels

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January 2010



Love is in the air at Van Cleef & Arpels, but then again it never really left. Van Cleef & Arpels only exists because Alfred Van Cleef fell head over heels in love with Estelle Arpels. So it makes perfect sense that love should be a theme that the company holds dear. So for all you incurable romantics out there, here is a timepiece to fall in love with.

Le Pont des Amoureux (or the not nearly so eloquent ‘Lovers’ Bridge’ in English!) depicts two lovers under an autumn sky, walking to meet each other on one of Paris’ fairy-tale bridges. The gentleman indicates the minutes with a rose that he is hiding behind his back and the lady points to the hours with the tip of her parasol. Thanks to an ingenious retrograde module, designed by the award-winning constructor Jean-Marc Wiederrecht on a Jaeger-LeCoultre base, the two lovers approach until they are finally in each other’s arms at the strike of midnight.
The scene is painted with grisaille enamel, one of the oldest enamelling techniques from Limoges that uses only black and white enamel and dates back to the 16th century. Very few enamellists know the grisaille technique as no known records exist about how it is achieved, and those who do know the technique, guard it secretively.


VC&A

VC&A


The technique demands hours and hours of work and an enormous amount of patience as numerous layers of enamel need to be applied to create the jet black and pure white. Creating a uniform colour is one of the biggest challenges in the art of grisaille enamel and it took 57 hours of research and development just to get the black right. The next step is to apply the white Limoges enamel which consists of minute grains. The grains are applied using a fine paintbrush and positioned using an even finer needle. Each application of enamel necessitates a baking in the furnace between 740 and 840 degrees Centigrade. The shades of grey are surprisingly not grey enamel, but fewer layers of white that fuse together with the black. The result is a work of art that catches the light and creates a great sense of depth.
This depth is accentuated by the white gold bridge and lovers that are applied onto the dial once the enamel is complete. The dial is then set in a 38mm white gold case with round diamonds on the bezel, creating an elegant frame to the romantic scene.
The beauty of Van Cleef & Arpels’ Le Pont des Amoureux is that it is truly a timepiece for women. “It is a poetic interpretation of time from a jeweller’s point of view,” explains Maria Laffont, Director of Communication. The company’s designers start with an idea for a dial and then a movement is developed to make the design work. It is a different way to work, most probably more challenging, but the result is a timepiece that is feminine all the way through.
Like all of Van Cleef & Arpel’s Poetic Compli-cations, Le Pont des Amoureux will be produced in a very limited number. It is no wonder that many of Van Cleef & Arpels female clients have started their very own watch collections.
For more information about grisaille enamel and other enamelling techniques look out for a special report in Europa Star’s next issue.


Source: Europa Star December-January 2010 Magazine Issue