Cover Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate
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Rainer Bernard, head of research and development for watchmaking at Van Cleef & Arpels, reveals how the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate unites mechanical ingenuity with poetic craftsmanship into a story told on the wrist
For some, a watch may just be a tool that tells time. But for Van Cleef & Arpels, watches can also tell beautiful stories. Since 2006, the maison has explored this vision through its Poetic Complications, a collection of horological creations that combine mechanical ingenuity with métiers d’art to animate love stories, enchanted nature and celestial wonders on the dial. At the hands of its designers, watchmakers and artisans, the dial transforms into a stage where these themes are imaginatively brought to life through movement and craftsmanship.
Among these inspirations, love has long been a driving force in the maison’s creativity. It is also at the heart of its most emblematic Poetic Complication: the Pont des Amoureux watch, introduced in 2010, which portrays two lovers advancing across a Parisian bridge to meet for a kiss at noon and midnight. Over the years, this tender rendezvous has become a symbol of Van Cleef & Arpels’ poetic vision of time, reinterpreted in new colours and variations.
In case you missed it: Van Cleef & Arpels captures a romantic rendezvous in the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate
Above Rainer Bernard, head of research and development for watchmaking at Van Cleef & Arpels
Rainer Bernard, head of research and development for watchmaking at Van Cleef & Arpels
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From the bridge, the lovers now move on to a guinguette—an open-air Parisian dance café—in the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate, one of the maison’s standout 2025 creations. Here, beneath lanterns strung across the night sky, they dance on cobblestones before leaning in for a kiss, their gestures so fluid they seem to breathe. For Rainer Bernard, Van Cleef & Arpels’ head of research and development for watchmaking, this evolution feels natural. “It’s a new chapter in the same book,” he tells Tatler. “Our lovers are meeting in a different place, in a different atmosphere … it’s music, lightbulbs strung across the night, people laughing, talking, dancing.”
That sense of romance is mirrored in the animation itself. Two golden stars mark the hours and minutes, aligning at noon and midnight as the lovers come together for a kiss. “We kept the [length of the] kiss at three minutes,” Bernard adds with a smile. “Because we think this is a good French kiss.”
Above The Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate with a blue alligator strap
The Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate with a blue alligator strap
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The lovers’ embrace can also be activated on demand via a pusher at 8 o’clock on the 38mm white gold case. Compared to earlier Pont des Amoureux creations, this new animation possesses an even more lifelike quality and remarkable fluidity of the figures’ gestures. “They approach each other, their arms lower as they hold hands, and their bodies lean forward. We gave them joints at the shoulders, hips and elbows, so the movement feels natural,” Bernard explains.
Achieving this was no small feat. In traditional watchmaking, a simple rotation—like a hand turning around the dial—is relatively straightforward to engineer. But here, the figures also had to move toward each other in a straight line, a motion known as translation. “To combine both—a rotation of the body with a translation forward—in a smooth and elegant way, and to do so within the tiny dimensions of a watch case, was a major challenge,” he explains. The breakthrough was significant enough to result in one of three patents in this watch. Yet, Bernard is quick to add: “The objective is not to make patents. The objective is to have a movement that brings the story alive. And when that happens, we go to places where nobody has been.”
Above Grisaille enamel creates the effect of depth on the dial
Grisaille enamel creates the effect of depth on the dial
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The Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate’s new calibre was developed over four years and comprises 343 components. “It’s quite busy, right?,” Bernard quips. “But I can assure you that each one of the components is necessary. We always try to make it as simple as possible in order to have the space for a beautiful dial.”
He likens its conception to designing a house: “At the beginning, we reflect on structure. How do we want the functions to interact? Where should the flow of energy go? Once the architecture is defined, then we move into the details. Clever design means robust design—as simple as possible, never overcomplicating. That way we can preserve space for beauty: for the layered dial, the enamel, the artistry.”
Above Placing a rhodium-plated character on the dial
Placing a rhodium-plated character on the dial
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And artistry abounds. The dial is constructed in depth, with layers of clouds, 3D Parisian buildings and hand-engraved gold cobblestones setting the scene for the dancers. Grisaille enamel, painstakingly fired multiple times, creates subtle gradients of blue night sky punctuated by golden lanterns. Even the caseback is treated as a canvas and bears decoration—an intimate detail reserved for the wearer alone. Its sapphire crystal is adorned with enamel applied using an ancient decal technique. “For us, the back is as important as the front,” Bernard insists.
For him, the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate perfectly illustrates the maison’s vision of time. “Sometimes innovation is aesthetical, sometimes technical, sometimes both. But always, it is driven by the story,” he says. In this case, it is a love story set on a Parisian night filled with music, lanterns, and the tender moment when two figures meet as the stars align.
“The movement is there to bring the story alive,” Bernard concludes. “That is our vision of time—not just hours and minutes, but emotion, imagination, and wonder.”
Credits
Images: Van Cleef & Arpels
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Annabel Tan is the Editor of Watches and Jewellery at Tatler Singapore, where she covers all things luxury timepieces and fine jewellery across both print and digital platforms. She is also the Editor of Tatler GMT Singapore, a role that deepens her fascination with the ever-evolving world of watchmaking. Outside of work, she’s usually on the hunt for her next favourite watch that she can’t afford, planning her next beach getaway, or catching up on the latest Formula 1 race.
