extraordinary

Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Watches Hands-On

Last month in Geneva, luxury watch brand and jewelry maker Van Cleef & Arpels was nice enough to invite me into their world and spend some time telling me about their brand and unique perspective on watch making. I had the opportunity to see an artistic side of the haute horology watch world that I didn't know existed. High-end art watches are particularly interesting to me because they are functional art ( they tell the time in addition to looking good).

I previously discussed the Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly watches here. After praising them, I thought it would be a good idea to follow up after checking them out myself. Note that these are of course women's watches, sized at 38mm wide in 18k white gold, and liberally decorated with fine, large diamonds. Each of the watch dials is totally hand done, and each of the five watches comes in a limited edition of just 8 pieces. After seeing the watches, this makes sense. To capture the high level of quality you just can't mass produce these things. The dial colors really jump out at you - thanks to the special type of enameling that is done like stained glass. Note the metallic framework, with the enamel applied between the lines (literally). In the pictured watch, you can really get a good visualization of the stained glass look in the brown and yellow butterfly as well as the adjacent flower. For any woman with means, and an appreciation for talent and details, this is an impressive collection.

As a play on the collection being like a set of actual pinned butterfly specimens, the box the watches come in has a sliding magnifier that gives you a closer look at the watches, just as an enthusiast would look over his or her butterfly specimen collection. Each of the watches is top quality in feel and construction, which should be expected with their high price points. Inside the watches are mechanical Swiss movements. In all, a really impressive line if luxury items should you ever be interested in high-end watch watches with a artistic and jewelry feel to them. The rest of us can simply enjoy their beauty. Price for the Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Buttery watch collection is an extraordinary $495,000. I look forward to experiencing more and more visually pleasing luxuries from this brand .

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Van Cleef & Arpels Extraordinary Butterfly Watches Hands-On

Tags: 2010, butterfly, enamel, extraordinary, limited edition, LimitedEdition, sihh, van cleef arpels, VanCleefArpels

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Extraordinary Hummingbirds Series

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

While I have mentioned the fantasy art style of Van Cleef & Arpels in the past, their Disney-esque portrayal of nature continues to move me. I want two things. First to have the finances to afford these creations, and second, to have a female who will appreciate the pieces as much as I - to get these watches for. I recently mentioned the new Extraordinary Butterfly watches for 2010, and here are the Lady Arpels Extraordinary Hummingbirds Series watches. Note that there will be five in the collection and pictured are just two of them. Names of the individual pieces will be the Berylline, Ruby-Throated, Violet-Crowned, Blue-Throated and Calliope. Each version is limited to just 8 pieces in this limited edition.

The watches are very high-end. The 38mm wide cases are in platinum inlaid with diamonds around the bezel and lugs, while the dials are a montage of special enameling, a type of stained glass, and a mosaic of gems. Inside the watches is a Caliber 830P mechanical movement. Really stunning, but that is to be expected from the brand.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2010, extraordinary, Hummingbird, lady, Van Cleef Arpels, VanCleefArpels, watch