SimplyAbuDhabi V

Van Cleef & Arples: Poetic Wish Once upon a time, Van Cleef & Arpels asked a diamond fairy to transform the colours of time. Thanks to her, complication movements, so precious to watchmakers and to watch lovers, became poetic. This was in 2007, Van Cleef & Arpels presented a Poetic Complication: the Lady Arpels Féérie watch, equipped with a retrograde movement. A diamond fairy indicated the hours with her wand, the minutes with the tip of her wings. Her dazzling wand had granted another wish: to a baby girl in her cradle, she promised happiness, love and joy. A few years later, Van Cleef & Arpels added another chapter to its Poetry of Time with the Une Journée à Paris watch. The child had become a girl and she discovered the City of Romance thanks to a series of symbols on the watch’s dial: the place Vendôme column, the giant Ferris wheel of the jardin des Tuileries… and the Eiffel Tower. In 2010, the girl was back in Paris with the Pont des Amoureux watch. Two young people, on a summer’s night, walked along a bridge on the Seine river. The young woman’s steps indicated the hours; the young man’s marked the minutes. Slowly but surely, they came closer to finally exchange a kiss at midnight. Since then, the two young lovers have stayed in Paris and a new chapter of The Poetry of Time has been written for them. The Lady Arpels Poetic Wish and the Midnight Poetic Wish symbolize this never-ending love story. A story where the passing of time, and its precious hours and minutes, casts a spell of eternal renewal. The Poetic Complications, created in 2006 by the Maison Van Cleef & Arpels, are inspired by a unique idea: how to take the measure of time while telling a story. The two Poetic Wish watches are time-keeping masterpieces. With them, the Maison once again pushes the limits of technical prowess. Each watch features three integrated automatons. As is the case for all of the Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complications, in addition to their ornamental function, they show the hours and the minutes. The Poetic Wish movement indicates the hour and the minutes thanks to a “poetic animation” and a 5-minute repeater mechanism: striking the hours and then the number of 5-minute periods since the hour. The action of the hammers for the repeater strikes the bells situated behind the crystal case back. Extraordinary Dials are at the foundation of Van Cleef & Arpels’ Poetry of Time. The extremely precise skills of the craftsmen who work with the most precious materials accentuate the exquisite detail and refinement of the timepieces. Rising to the challenge set by the master watchmakers, the Mains d’Or (golden hands) - artisans for whom nothing is impossible - practise their art on the dials to create miniature masterpieces. Their wishes may have met. What did they say to each other? That is up to our imagination... This is the magic of Van Cleef &Arpels’ Poetry of Time: creating watches that are full of emotion, that tell a story and invite us into a dreamlike world. They also offer the chance for the wearer or the giver of these remarkable timepieces to listen to his or her heart’s desire and make a wish, no matter how secret. Each Poetic Wish timepiece is presented in its own extraordinary cabinet made of precious woods and mother-of-pearl inlay. The boxes tell the story of the Poetic Wish watches and, when they are put together, the young lovers are re-united. The cabinet’s interiors have been conceived following the tradition of stringedinstrument makers so as to enhance the sound of the Poetic Complications. The watch, placed in its customised box, becomes a collector’s piece.