Van Cleef & Arpels has revealed a series of new timepieces at Watches and Wonders 2025, held in Geneva.
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This year’s presentation pays tribute to Paris, the Maison’s birthplace, and continues its exploration of romance, craftsmanship and horological innovation.
At the heart of the showcase is the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate, which introduces a new automaton movement developed over four years by the brand’s watchmaking workshops. Inspired by guinguettes (open-air dance cafés typical of 19th-century Paris) the dial presents a nighttime scene where lovers meet under starlight. A push-button activates an animation in which the figures move naturally towards each other, thanks to three articulations that mimic realistic motion. The piece uses both traditional and coloured grisaille enamel, a métier d’art requiring around 40 hours of work and a dozen firings per dial.
Also featured is an expanded Pont des Amoureux collection. First launched in 2010, the series depicts a couple meeting on a Parisian bridge. Four new editions (Aube, Matinée, Soirée and Clair de Lune) portray the lovers at different times of day using double retrograde movement and on-demand animation. The pieces incorporate sculpted gold, enamel decal on sapphire glass and jeweled bracelets with gradations of sapphires and diamonds.
Among the most ambitious pieces unveiled is the Planétarium Automaton. Standing 50 cm high and 66.5 cm in diameter, the automaton presents the Sun and visible planets from Earth, including a revolving Moon. Each body moves at its real astronomical speed, from Mercury’s 88-day orbit to Saturn’s 29.5-year cycle. A shooting star made of rose gold, diamonds and rubies indicates time while sweeping past the planets, accompanied by a 15-bell chime. The base integrates hour, calendar and power reserve displays.
Another addition is the Naissance de l’Amour automaton. A collaboration with François Junod’s atelier, the piece features Cupid rising from a basket of feathers. Its mechanism includes enamel wings, a rose gold column, and materials such as iron eye, petrified palmwood and pink sapphires.
The Maison also presented the Ruban Mystérieux watch and a new Cadenas model. The former uses Mystery Set sapphires and emeralds around a 3.72-carat diamond, while the latter reinterprets a 1935 design with snow-set diamonds and sapphires on a yellow gold bracelet.
Each creation reflects Van Cleef & Arpels’ continued dedication to combining artistic craft and technical mastery.
