Van Cleef & Arpels' immersive London exhibition takes visitors inside the watchmaking world

A new London exhibition is celebrating the fantastical horological world of Van Cleef & Arpels, where fairies and ballerinas flit over watch dials, diamond moons rise and gold suns set, and flowers wave gently in the breeze. The exhibition, entitled ‘Poetry of Time’ ( 26 May-9 June 2024), traces the early days of the maison, following Estelle Arpels’ marriage to Alfred Van Cleef in 1895, which signalled the beginning of a distinctive aesthetic that blurred the lines between high jewellery and watchmaking. Crafts such as the ‘mystery set’ technique, where diamonds appear to hover without the aid of visible settings, and the transformable zip necklace – which actually zipped – set a sharply technical tone.

This jewellery heritage, when married to a watchmaking savoir faire, went on to define the aesthetic of the timepieces. Romance reigned, from the jewelled birds perched on a 1949 table clock to spectacular high jewellery automatons.

Throughout the retrospective – which will be on show at South Kensington’s Cromwell Place gallery – the old meets the new, with traditional crafts sharpened by technical innovation. The process requires a team effort, uniting skills across the maison. ‘We can create our own colours, we are in control of the process,’ explains Rainer Bernard, Van Cleef & Arpels’ research and development director for timepieces. ‘We combine research and knowledge with craftsmanship and artistry. And this combination brings us to new levels.’

The narrative is key, Bernard emphasises. ‘We develop the technique according to the story. First is the story. Then we have to find the balance between aesthetics and what’s technically doable. And when you do something that you’ve never done before, you find technical difficulties. So then we have to talk with the creative team and it will influence the drawing. The design is constantly in movement until we find a concept that satisfies us technically.’

This immersive emphasis is reflected in the exhibition itself. Visitors are able to witness demonstrations from Geneva’s watchmaking artisans and learn about the mechanical process behind each watch, with visitors of all ages able to take part in workshops run by Van Cleef & Arpels’ L’École School of Jewelry Arts. Inside the exhibition, engaging scenography takes visitors through an enchanted forest, with art deco accents nodding to the movement’s significant impact on maison’s the watches and jewellery. Peppered with Murano glass leaves and rich in green, orange and blue hues, the setting is a jewellery box of treats in itself – as it should be, says Bernard. ‘The main actors in the development [of the pieces] are the craftsmanship and the engineering, and then the jewellery – it’s always a piece of jewellery.’

The exhibition title, ‘Poetry of Time’, reflects this taste for the extraordinary. ‘What is poetry?’ Benard asks. ‘It triggers a feeling, or an emotional reaction. We also try to trigger an emotional reaction, not through words, but through the creation itself, and then to animate that creation.’

‘Poetry of Time’ will be on show from 26 May-9 June at Cromwell Place, London SW7

cromwellplace.com, vancleefarpels.com

A version of this article appears in the June 2024 Travel Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.