The first secret watches appeared in the Van Cleef & Arpels collections from 1920's revealing the Maison’s desire to offer a jeweled setting to the passing of the hours.

Today, Van Cleef & Arpels pursues the tradition of secret watches, reinterpretating its founding themes as nature, couture or love stories. Thus, surprise and wonderment continue to be awakened at the heart of a long necklace, or a bracelet, through unusual games of hide and seek.

LET YOURSELF BE SURPRISED BY THE TIME

Introducing two novelties among the High Jewelry watches, the Ludo Secret creations celebrate the timeless elegance of one of Van Cleef & Arpels’ signature pieces: the Ludo bracelet.

Like a surprise, the watches of the Ludo Secret collection continue the tradition of mystery dear to the Maison. By cleverly hiding their dial, these elegant and inventive pieces allow their wearer to tell time with discretion, making every second a secret.

STORY TIME! RELIVE THE AUDACITY OF THE 30's 

The Ludo secret watch reveal a dial in guilloché white mother-of-pear thanks to a simultaneous press of the two motifs in diamonds or pink sapphires.

To compose these gemstone ensembles, the Maison’s gemologists gathered their expertise to pair diamonds of similar brilliance and pink sapphires of harmonious intensity. As in the original creation, the watches’ flexible, brick-pattern meshwork recalls a belt.

The Maison is also unveiling a unique new creation inspired by the 1941 Ludo Hexagone Macaron secret watch. On a bracelet composed of a meshwork of yellow-gold hexagons, punctuated with star-set emeralds, the dial is hidden behind a motif adorned with Mystery Set emeralds. Slightly rounded, this section complements the diamond-studded curves of two concentric arcs framing the case.

Golden beads come together in a charming ballet, complementing the tones of precious or ornamental stones to adorn six jewelry secret watches in the Perlée® collection. 

True pieces of jewelry, these curved and colorful pendants are worn on a long necklace. To check the time discreetly, all one must do is rotate the bejeweled motif to reveal the dial.

Three rare materials in the world of jewelry make their entrance in the Perlée® collection, in the form of generous cabochons. Chalcedony, with its blue-grey to light-blue hues, offers a delicate translucency in regular striated bands. It is enhanced by the shine of white gold, whereas rose quartz – used for the first time in the collection – is known for its pastel color, here paired with rose gold. Set in yellow gold, sodalite draws its poetic allure from the depths of its translucent, violet-tinged blue, inhabited by irregular light veins. Each stone is chosen for its quality, the harmony of its nuances, and its brightly polished surface.

The three others precious watches accent the brilliance of the signature beads with the intense hues of colored precious gems. Rubies respond to the tender nuances of rose gold, while sapphires and emeralds harmonize with the solar brilliance of yellow gold. 

First introduced in the collection on jewelry creations, these gems distinguish themselves by their intense color, demonstrating Van Cleef & Arpels’ attachment to precious stones.

In keeping with the Perlée® collection’s playful spirit, the Toi et Moi Perlée® watch combines golden beads with the bright blue of turquoise. 

In a luminous harmony; the larger motif delicately pivots to reveal an elegant white mother-of-pearl dial surrounded by a border of round diamonds.

Since 1968, the Alhambra® collection has evolved with the passing eras. In keeping with the Alhambra® collection’s iconic aesthetic, the pendant watches welcome the notion of a time for oneself, concealed at the heart of the emblematic, four-leafed clover-inspired motifs.

Since 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels has pursued its refined and highly recognizable style imbued with creativity, culture and poetry. 

The Maison applies its jewelry and watchmaking savoir-faire in a wondrously delicate universe where the most precious materials seem to come to life.

Light and spring-like, as a guardian of time, the daisy preserves the hours beneath a heart of yellow sapphires. When raised, the latter reveals a diamond dial that echoes the sparkle of the petals.

Their finely arced silhouettes combine a precious touch with the natural appearance of a real flower, burgeoning in the sunlight.

In keeping with the Maison’s tradition of transformable creations, the watch becomes a clip by assuming the central place in foliage of yellow gold, carved using ancestral goldsmith’s techniques. With their polished openwork, the leaves seem to quiver in the breeze, in an interplay of brilliance and warm reflections.

CONTEMPLATE THE MARGUERITE SECRETE WATCH CLOSELY 

In Van Cleef & Arpels’ garden, the Dahlia Secret High Jewelry watch unfolds its corolla of yellow gold and diamonds upon a mount adorned with precious leaves. Thanks to a system of subtle articulations, the petals quiver when touched, mimicking the sway of nature in the breeze. Each one is sculpted in volume, hand-worked and mirror polished to bring out intense reflections. The petals each envelop a closed-set diamond, illuminated by a central diamond. Next to the sparkling gem, three round yellow sapphires indicate the position of the secret mechanism: slight pressure on this discreet fastener reveals the dial, adorned with spessartite garnets. 

LET'S HAVE A WALK IN THE VAN CLEEF & ARPELS' GARDEN 

Ever since its foundation in 1906 on Paris’ Place Vendôme, Van Cleef & Arpels has drawn inspiration from the world of couture, like an homage to its place of birth. Over the years, the Maison has reinterpreted the fluidity of fabric or delicacy of trimmings in gold and precious materials, giving rise to elegant creations.

Beginning in the 1920s, the fashion for fluid, slender dresses inspired the Maison to create long pearl necklaces, sometimes adorned with twirling tassels. This aesthetic was revisited in the 1970s, when long necklaces were embellished with brightly colored precious and hard stones, reflecting the style of the period and the fashion for ‘‘cocktail’’ pieces to be worn at receptions. Today, Van Cleef & Arpels perpetuates the charm of both these periods, in colorful long necklaces suffused with movement and femininity.

Adorned with a delicate tassel and a carefully disguised watch, the Pompon secret long necklaces bring new delight to the art of telling the time and illustrate the art of surprise dear to the Maison by numerous wearing possibilities.

Made up of rows of cultured pearls, jewelry motifs and a fluid tassel, this long necklace reveals a cushion-cut 6.19-carat Sri Lankan sapphire at its heart. Its remarkably intense color contrasts with the whiteness of the pearls and establishes a dialogue with the sapphire details and lapis lazuli beads present on the piece. Hidden beneath the central motif, a secret dial is revealed by delicately pressing one of the diamonds.

Extremely transformable, this creation is simultaneously unique and graced with a multiplicity of functions: the secret watch and tassel can be removed to vary the length of the long necklace, which can be shortened even further thanks to removable strands of pearls. The latter metamorphose into two bracelets, while the secret watch can be attached to a third bracelet in diamonds, sapphires and cultured pearls.

Gracefully circling the wrist, crowned with a glittering bow – which opens to show the dial – these Ruban Secret Watches hide or reveal the time in keeping with their wearer’s mood.

While one, in white gold, is adorned with round diamonds from its dial to the bracelet, the other – in rose gold – is embellished with a harmonious gradation of pink sapphires and diamonds.

The Maison’s jewelry savoir-faire can also be seen in the bracelet’s articulation, which maintains the continuity between the links when worn on the wrist. A high standard of comfort is thus combined with aesthetic appeal, creating dazzling plays of light.

With interlaced precious stones and subtly concealed dials, the High Jewelry watches cultivate the art of mystery and dazzlingly relate the stories of legendary couples from literature, mythology and opera. An ode to love, captured in all its evocative and awe-inspiring power.

This watch brings together vine leaves and a rose bush in homage to the courtly love story of Tristan and Iseult. A cushion-cut sapphire weighing seems to bloom like a rose at the center of a diamond leaf, its intense color evoking Iseult’s fresh complexion. It is accompanied by a pear-shaped diamond, in a precious tête-à-tête: the stone is set on a leaf of blue and pink sapphires representing the young knight Tristan. Thanks to a secret mechanism, the center of the leaf can be raised to reveal a dial and an inscription: “Ni vous sans moi ni moi sans vous” (Neither you without me, nor me without you). 

A signature of the Van Cleef & Arpels style, the asymmetry of shapes and colors instills the piece with subtle dynamism, echoing the two lovers’ tumultuous union.

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