A Non Plus Ultra Mother’s Day Gift Tip: New Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complications Watches For The Mom Who Has Everything
We have a practical mindset here at Fratello. We love our tool watches, most of us get lost in spec sheets, and “form follows function” is most often our motto. But we also have a romantic side. Especially when Mother’s Day is nigh (it’s coming this Sunday!), we get in touch with our softer and more poetic side. And when you say “poetic” and consider watches for women, you think of Van Cleef & Arpels, the maison born of love. During Watches and Wonders, we were stunned by the new watches in the Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complications lineup. The impression these outstanding creations made led to this non plus ultra Mother’s Day gift tip.
For almost two decades, Van Cleef & Arpels has shown the watch world that complications can be creative, original, and most of all, poetic. The brand’s Poetic Complications collection expresses the poetry of its fairy-like universe through watches featuring unexpected complications. Those in this exclusive high-end collection combine mechanical expertise, métiers d’art, and different precious materials to bring a miniature scene or story to life. During Watches and Wonders 2025, Van Cleef & Arpels introduced five new Poetic Complications models. Meet the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate and four new versions of the Pont des Amoureux.
New Van Cleef & Arpels Poetic Complications watches: Introducing the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate
The Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate is as much a storyteller as it is a complicated watch. What you see on the dial is a guinguette, an open-air dance café typical of 19th-century Parisian suburbs. A complicated automaton caliber moves the lovers closer for a kiss at noon and midnight.
The movement of the lovers is synchronized with the time-telling stars at the top of the dial. Making this happen is a patented affair. It’s not just the kissing that makes the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate such a romantic piece. The kissing couple constantly holds hands while dancing in the cobblestone courtyard rendered in white gold. The two move further apart or closer together depending on the time of day, which, once again, all culminates in a kiss at midnight and noon.
Sure, hidden cams and wheels make the romance possible, not real love. But the scene looks pretty convincing thanks to the passionate watchmakers who constructed the patented movement.
The scene occurs in a watch with a 38mm white gold case and T-bar lugs set with diamonds. A diamond-encrusted bracelet and a blue leather strap are options. The diamonds on the watch shine like the golden stars on the dial, which indicate the hours and minutes on independent scales. The stars shine and move in a beautifully detailed sky with dark clouds hand-crafted in grisaille enamel. The price of the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate is €170,000 with the leather strap or €273,000 with the bracelet. But you can’t put a price on love, now can you? Your mom will agree.
Four new Pont des Amoureux watches
In 2010, Van Cleef & Arpels unveiled the Pont des Amoureux. This watch was the first Poetic Complications creation to win a Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève award. The Pont des Amoureux watches, like the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate, tell the story of a man and a woman in love. In the case of the 38mm Pont des Amoureux models, they meet on a bridge, and this year, the brand releases four new variations on the theme. The rose gold and pink Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux Aube, white gold and light blue Matinée, rose gold and purple Soirée, and white gold and dark blue Clair de lune feature precious bracelets and show the couple on the bridge in colors matching the different times of day. The dials evoke the light and colors of dawn, morning, dusk, and moonlight.
The man and the woman indicate the hours and minutes, but by activating the mechanism, they move towards each other and kiss, forgetting their time-keeping duties for three minutes. Why three minutes? We asked that during the press sessions at Watches and Wonders. A Van Cleef & Arpels expert answered that kissing for three minutes brings lovers closer together and forges a strong, deep connection.
That’s the romantic answer, but there’s also a more scientific one. Research has shown that regularly kissing for at least three minutes reduces high blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels. Sorry for this unromantic explanation, but remember that you’re on the Fratello website. Each of the four new Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux models costs €453,000.
Did you find this Mother’s Day gift idea a helpful tip? If so, leave a comment, preferably one that rhymes. In any case, happy Mother’s Day!
