The Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Heures Florales is first and foremost about being a piece of mechanical art, reminiscent of MB&F, only entirely realized for lovers of nature, precious stones, and poetry. Telling the time is secondary, but that doesn’t make it any less horologically stupendous.
Wandering the halls of the Palexpo, where the 2018 SIHH took place, Martin noticed plenty of trends. And while many of them have already been shared here and there, he noticed one trend he felt hadn’t been mentioned yet: how few diamond-set watches there were!
In this age of digital information, watch companies try to get ahead of the competition by releasing news on new timepieces ahead of the big watch fairs. This year is no different, and in honor of the upcoming 28th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), which opens its doors on January 15, 2018, we present you with an overview of some of the new models that have already been revealed – at least electronically.
I am always excited when I see a new example of whimsy in the world. And Van Cleef & Arpels is always a good source of whimsy; the brand’s latest Poetic Complications creation, the Lady Arpels Ronde des Papillons, exemplifies this. It takes a very serious and complicated new movement and uses it for a fanciful display of beauty and cheer that includes exquisitely hand-painted butterflies and a swallow as hour and minute indicators.