Van Cleef & Arpels’ Gem Set Timepieces (and Booth) Give Artemis II a Run for Its Money

It is common knowledge among Watches and Wonders attendees that one of the most spectacular, if not the most spectacular, booths at the fair is the one belonging to Van Cleef & Arpels.

For years, and even in the days of the SIHH, onlookers were treated to a visual feast, where color, lighting, décor, and sound created an experience so serene that one could momentarily forget they were in the middle of the world’s largest indoor watch trade fair. Just three years ago, I wrote a piece for Watchonista comparing that year’s VC&A’s women’s watch releases to the parts of a symphony, with the booth acting as a symphony hall, tying everything together.

This year, Van Cleef & Arpels’ theme is “Poetry of the Heavens,” which is downright fitting considering space travel and astronomy are hot topics right now. But while the earth is beautiful when viewed from space, I’m sure the astronauts on the Artemis II would agree that a little bit of heaven could be found in Geneva.

While the original Ludo Secret watch was introduced by Van Cleef & Arpels in 1935, just one year after the Ludo bracelet was introduced, the Maison presented an updated version of the Secret watch in several styles at Watches and Wonders in 2023. This year’s edition will see yet another novelty added to that collection in the form of 18K yellow gold, which stunningly matches medium-blue sapphires.

Made to resemble a ladies’ belt, the 2026 Ludo Secret watch ($157,000) highlights Van Cleef & Arpels’ attention to gem selection and setting. The brand’s gemologists chose sapphires that matched not just in color but also in cut quality and shared characteristics, though millimeter diameters vary to fit the gems into the metal with as little space as possible showing.
 

The contrast of the bright yellow, high-polished bracelet against the eye-catching blue of the sapphires makes for an all-around elegant jewelry watch, and the mother-of-pearl dial, hidden under a yellow gold peekaboo drawbridge, is accented with one additional baguette sapphire at the 12 o’clock mark.

The Van Cleef & Arpels Perlée collection continues to grow even more impressive with the presentation of an 18K white gold version. “Perlée,” which in French translates to “beaded” or even “pearled,” is the ideal name for this collection as small, identically sized high-polished beads cover the case and frame the face. And what a delightful face it is!
 

The face (or dial, if you prefer) of this latest 23mm Perlée timepiece ($22,500) is made from midnight-blue aventurine glass forged in Murano, Italy. The process of creating aventurine glass is time-consuming and complex, but the result is nothing short of starry and magnificent, and is always unique.
 

The material used for the dial of this version of the Perlée is also decorated with a guilloché and an inner frame of white round brilliant-cut diamonds. Meanwhile, an “invisible” button on the back of the case is used to set the time, so as not to compromise the piece's aesthetics, and a matching midnight blue alligator bracelet adds the finishing touch to this novelty.

Leave it to Van Cleef & Arpels to make even the most cynical watch enthusiast fall in love with love. Year after year, upon entering the VC&A booth at Watches and Wonders, a feeling of romanticism takes over, and this year is no different. But what is inside the booth only adds to every story the brand tells. Some watches are sexy. Some have elegant features or high complications. And all of those attributes matter.

That said, the Lady Rencontre Céleste and the Lady Retrouvailles Célestes watches introduced this year are romantic, pure, and simple. The characters we have come to know and love in Van Cleef and Arpels’ stories – in this case, Vega and Altai (or Niulang and Zhinu) – reunite against a backdrop of beauty.
 

The Lady Rencontre Céleste ($229,000) shows the couple beneath a star-studded, nighttime sky. The couple, forged in 18K white gold and adorned with rose-cut white diamonds on their faces and brilliant-cut diamonds on their clothing, stand behind clouds of plique-à-jour enamel and underneath a starry diamond sky and diamond crescent moon.

The backdrop of the dial is decorated in champlevé and grisaille enamel and accented with a soft sapphire crescent. The entire scene is framed by meticulously set diamond bezel and lugs, which work beautifully with the watch’s 18K white gold case and beautifully etched caseback.
 

In addition to the very “on theme” blue version above, the Lady Retrouvailles Célestes ($229,000) was crafted in an 18K rose gold case and uses tones of pink and mauve to tell its story. The lovers’ tale comes to life in a similar fashion, only here, standing before a crescent of mauve sapphires.

Meanwhile, the background of the dial is also fashioned in champlevé enamel, with accents in the form of clouds and veils, crafted in plique-à-jour enamel and set with diamonds. Both timepieces are accompanied by matching alligator straps.
 

For more information about the brand’s Watches and Wonders releases, check out the Van Cleef & Arpels website.