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Lot Essay
We are delighted to present the latest incredible version of Van Cleef and Arpels ‘Midnight Pont des Amoureux’ wristwatch now featuring an ‘on demand’ animated scene on the dial in addition to the hourly animated display. Moreover, the case size has been increased to an impressive 42 mm. The present watch is, to the best of our knowledge, the first example of the model with on demand animation to be offered at auction. It is accompanied by the full set of accessories.
An artistic and technical miniature masterpiece, the mesmerising ‘Midnight Pont des Amoureux’ is perhaps the most delightful of Van Cleef & Arpels ‘Poetic Complications’ series. The first model, launched in 2010 and now a signature creation of the brand, featured the now familiar retrograde display with the figure of the lady indicating the hours on the left and the gentleman, the minutes on the right. At midnight and midday, the two figures meet in the centre of the bridge to ‘kiss’ - a kiss that lasted 10 seconds before the figures parted. For the present new model, Van Cleef and Arpels decided to increase the romantic aspect of the model by making the animation available anytime on demand as well as at 12 o’clock, and to extend the length of the ‘kiss’ to a full three minutes. These new features required the development of a new automatic movement based on a ValFleurier Q020 caliber to replace the previous manual-winding Jaeger-LeCoultre base movement. An entirely new animation module was also created exclusively for Van Cleef and Arpels by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, who had created the first ‘Pont des Amoureux’ module. The new module is a considerable watchmaking achievement, it not only allows the animated scene to be activated at will by pressing the button in the side of the case for a ‘kiss’ of 10 seconds duration, but also at midnight and midday when the couple meet, the ‘kiss’ lasts a remarkable 3 minutes. Ingeniously, the movement takes account of the ‘lost’ 3 minutes and the figures then return to their correct time positions.
The painted enamel scene of the present watch depicts the romance of Paris by night. The enamel takes around 40 hours of work by one of Van Cleef & Arpels master craftsman to produce the backdrop for the two figures to meet and finally kiss in the centre of the bridge as the hours and minutes progress towards 12 o’clock or on demand. Framed by the 42 mm white gold case, the ‘Midnight Pont des Amoureux’ is a wristwatch that is both extremely beautiful and a tour-de-force of haute horology and rare craftsmanship.
In the words of Van Cleef & Arpels “watches whose dials bring the fairytale world of the jeweler to life”.
An artistic and technical miniature masterpiece, the mesmerising ‘Midnight Pont des Amoureux’ is perhaps the most delightful of Van Cleef & Arpels ‘Poetic Complications’ series. The first model, launched in 2010 and now a signature creation of the brand, featured the now familiar retrograde display with the figure of the lady indicating the hours on the left and the gentleman, the minutes on the right. At midnight and midday, the two figures meet in the centre of the bridge to ‘kiss’ - a kiss that lasted 10 seconds before the figures parted. For the present new model, Van Cleef and Arpels decided to increase the romantic aspect of the model by making the animation available anytime on demand as well as at 12 o’clock, and to extend the length of the ‘kiss’ to a full three minutes. These new features required the development of a new automatic movement based on a ValFleurier Q020 caliber to replace the previous manual-winding Jaeger-LeCoultre base movement. An entirely new animation module was also created exclusively for Van Cleef and Arpels by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, who had created the first ‘Pont des Amoureux’ module. The new module is a considerable watchmaking achievement, it not only allows the animated scene to be activated at will by pressing the button in the side of the case for a ‘kiss’ of 10 seconds duration, but also at midnight and midday when the couple meet, the ‘kiss’ lasts a remarkable 3 minutes. Ingeniously, the movement takes account of the ‘lost’ 3 minutes and the figures then return to their correct time positions.
The painted enamel scene of the present watch depicts the romance of Paris by night. The enamel takes around 40 hours of work by one of Van Cleef & Arpels master craftsman to produce the backdrop for the two figures to meet and finally kiss in the centre of the bridge as the hours and minutes progress towards 12 o’clock or on demand. Framed by the 42 mm white gold case, the ‘Midnight Pont des Amoureux’ is a wristwatch that is both extremely beautiful and a tour-de-force of haute horology and rare craftsmanship.
In the words of Van Cleef & Arpels “watches whose dials bring the fairytale world of the jeweler to life”.