STYLE Edit: Van Cleef & Arpels launches dazzling new Extraordinary Dials watches, painstakingly crafted to present bejewelled scenes of its signature fairy in nature

Jan 24 , 2022

Van Cleef & Arpels’ Charms Papillon Féerique watch from the Extraordinary Dials Collection. Photos: Van Cleef & Arpels

The Charms Papillon Féerique watch features a fairy and a butterfly – another of the luxury brand’s classic motifs – with diamonds, sapphires and mother-of-pearl

Rose and yellow gold come together in the Charms Coccinelle Féerique watch, which depicts another fairy with a ladybird, depicted via cabochonné enamel and miniature painting

Two extraordinary skills – those of the watchmaker and those of the traditional craftsman – come together in dazzling harmony on the dials of Van Cleef & Arpels’ new Charms Coccinelle Féerique and Charms Papillon Féerique watches.

The two timepieces are fittingly fabulous new additions to the celebrated Parisian watchmaker and jeweller’s Extraordinary Dials collection, drawing on a host of traditional techniques to create watches of unparalleled visual artistry.

The Charms Coccinelle Féerique watch from Van Cleef & Arpels’ Extraordinary Dials collection with 32mm rose gold case, rose gold bezel, diamonds, pink sapphires, rubies and a rose gold rotating charm.

Using the expertise of traditional artisans, the maison selects the techniques that best bring each of these miniature artworks to life, including such diverse skills as engraving on gold and mother-of-pearl; champlevé, vallonné and grisaille styles of enamelling; stone-setting; and mother-of-pearl and stone marquetry.

The all-important fairy is added to the tableau on the dial of a Charms Coccinelle Féerique.

Van Cleef & Arpels has long evoked the figure of the fairy as an emblem of feminine grace, and she takes a starring role on the two new watches. She is depicted in eye-catching relief on the dial of the Charms Coccinelle Féerique watch, alongside a charming ladybird, whom she meets against a backdrop of sumptuous foliage. The ladybird is picked out in a combination of cabochonné enamel and miniature painting, mother-of-pearl glitters on the white gold leaves, and the fairy is partially made of rose cut and round diamonds.

They are complemented by a yellow gold sun with round yellow sapphires; and a background in white gold, round diamonds, pearly white mother-of-pearl, miniature painting and mother-of-pearl glitters. It comes in a 32mm rose gold case with a rose gold crown featuring round diamonds, and an engraving on the reverse of the watch that echoes the dial.

The Charms Papillon Féerique watch from Van Cleef & Arpels’ Extraordinary Dials collection features a 38mm white gold case, white gold bezel, diamonds, sapphires and a rose and white gold rotating charm.

Round diamonds and round pink sapphires are arranged in an idiosyncratic pattern around the rose gold bezel, while a rose gold rotating ladybird charm featuring round buff-topped rubies dangles from the side of the piece. It comes with interchangeable shiny wine-coloured or white alligator straps.

The fairy meets another of nature’s most loved creations, a butterfly, on the dial of the Charms Papillon Féerique timepiece from the same collection. The pair appear together in a nighttime scene, floating over an astonishingly lifelike body of water, created using white gold and paillonné enamel.

The Charms Papillon Féerique watch’s white gold butterfly features a marquise-cut diamond, plique-à-jour enamel, white mother-of-pearl, miniature painting and mother-of-pearl glitters.

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