Another series of stunning wristwatches has been presented at this year’s SIHH, designed and manufactured under the tutelage of Van Cleef & Arpels. It focuses on the famous icons of the brand alongside all sorts of motifs and métiers d’art.
Intricately crafted, the Charms Extraordinaire collection was created through careful engraving, miniature painting, enameling and sculpting, from exquisite materials like lacquer, gold, diamonds, enamel and mother of pearl.
The brand has recently managed to complete the collection with four additional models, based on rather interesting symbols – the lotus flower, the swallow, the lily of the valley and the dandelion. Each of the four pieces features colored stones on the bezel and triple rows of diamonds, in contrast to the brand’s traditional single row of diamonds.
The first of the lot, the Van Cleef & Arpels Charms Extraordinaire Féérie Dandelion, comes with a butterfly winged fairy upon a translucent blue lacquer dial. Furthermore, we noticed the superb fairy is blowing towards the diamond encrusted dandelion almost as if she was making a wish. Even more stunning is that the fairy is not just a painting, but a miniature sculpture with a rose cut diamond face and superbly enameled wings. The case of this model was crafted from white gold and includes a standard quartz movement.
The second is the Charms Extraordinaire Muguet – this model boasts with a fairy that seems to be lying within the Garden of Eden, releasing a butterfly out of her hands. The fairy is dressed in a sparkling flower skirt, encrusted with diamonds. The butterfly has been further used in the form of a charm, which comes attached to the pink gold case. The case has also been garnished with yellow sapphires and a bezel with triple diamond lining, all in contrast with the joyful green strap. The painting was realized upon an elegant mother of pearl dial.
The swallow-motif timepiece, the Charms Extraordinaire Hirodelles, comes with two gorgeous swallows upon a flower bed. This small gadget is quite an interesting symbol of spring and the array of changes it brings. Conferring a bit of airiness and light, the dial of the watch has been garnished with a cloud shaped charm in addition to the swallows. As for the bezel, it is beautifully decked with violet and pink sapphires alongside sparkling diamonds. Further diamonds have been applied to the chest of one of the swallows.
The Charm Extraordinaire Lotus concludes this stunning collection, garnished with the symbol of inner peace – the lotus flower. The charm was created, quite interestingly, with a particular method of enameling that has finally brought a unique character to each petals of the lotus flower. A relief for stressful and busy days, the wristwatch features a superb bezel decked with blue sapphires, Paraíba tourmalines and diamonds, all beautifully connected to a pink strap.
[Vancleefarpels]
