At Watches and Wonders 2026, Van Cleef & Arpels unveils a new celebration of its poetic universe with “Poetry of the Heavens,” a collection that looks to the sky, the moon and the constellations to transform watchmaking into storytelling, emotion and wonder. In doing so, the Maison renews the language of its celebrated Poetic Complications, reaffirming a vision in which technical savoir-faire, decorative arts and imagination coexist in perfect harmony.
The central theme of this year’s presentation is the relationship with the cosmos, long a source of inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels. The moon takes center stage in the new Midnight Jour Nuit Phase de Lune, a timepiece that combines a day/night indication with moon phases in a sophisticated and highly theatrical composition. Conceived as a nocturnal landscape, the dial animates the passage of time with an almost contemplative quality, while the astronomical complication underscores the Maison’s desire to unite mechanical precision with poetic expression.
Alongside this creation, Van Cleef & Arpels also presents the Midnight Heure d’ici & Heure d’ailleurs, dedicated to the theme of dual time zones. Here too, technical functionality is reinterpreted with narrative elegance: reading the time in two different places is no longer merely a practical gesture, but becomes an invitation to travel, to elsewhere, to imagination. The enamel dial, rich in nuance and depth, further enhances this refined and dreamlike dimension.
The collection also introduces new interpretations of the jewelry watch, one of the Maison’s most emblematic realms. The Ludo Secret, inspired by the iconic bracelet created in 1934, renews the dialogue between High Jewelry and watchmaking, while the new Perlée highlights the motif of the House’s signature golden beads in a luminous and feminine creation. In both cases, time is hidden or revealed like a precious detail, embedded within an object designed above all to captivate the eye.
Particularly evocative is the introduction of two new Extraordinary Dials, Lady Rencontre Céleste and Lady Retrouvailles Célestes, which tell a legendary love story set beneath a starry sky. Through enamel, miniature painting, diamonds and precious stones, Van Cleef & Arpels creates small poetic tableaux in which the dial becomes a narrative scene. It is here that the Maison’s identity emerges most powerfully: not merely to measure time, but to transform it into a fairy tale to be worn.
With “Poetry of the Heavens,” Van Cleef & Arpels renews its vision of High Watchmaking at Watches and Wonders 2026: not simply a technical exercise, but a precious narrative suspended between savoir-faire, enchantment and imagination. A collection that looks to the sky to transform time into pure emotion.
