Van Cleef & Arpels places a celestial love story at the centre of two Extraordinary Dials. Lady Rencontre Céleste and Lady Retrouvailles Célestes portray the legendary lovers Vega and Altair, also known as Niulang and Zhinu, through miniature scenes built from gold, enamel and gemstones. One watch holds the couple against a blue night sky; the other sets their anticipated reunion within a warmer world of pink and mauve.
In Lady Rencontre Céleste, white-gold figures clasp hands behind clouds, their faces suggested by rose-cut diamonds. A diamond-set moon illuminates the composition. Champlevé and grisaille enamels give the background its depth, while a sapphire crescent introduces another register of blue. Even the small beads securing those stones receive colour through miniature painting.
Lady Retrouvailles Célestes changes the scene. The figures reach towards one another across a bridge of sculpted white-gold birds, with mauve sapphires forming a crescent behind them. Rose gold and pink tones soften the surrounding composition. Clouds and veils in plique-à-jour enamel allow light to pass through parts of the scene, creating an effect that recalls stained glass at a remarkably small scale.
The technical interest lies in how these surfaces meet. Champlevé enamel occupies cavities carved into metal, while plique-à-jour is supported by an openwork gold framework. Van Cleef & Arpels also uses its patented setting-in-enamel technique, developed over two years, to secure precious stones directly in plique-à-jour enamel without additional metal components. The resulting lightness is particularly suited to clouds and celestial detail.
Both watches contain manual-winding mechanical movements, and both continue the narrative on their backs. Engraved depictions of the Summer Triangle connect Altair and Vega with Deneb, carrying the celestial theme beyond the dial. The pair invites the eye to move between the complete scene and the individual gestures that made it possible: a line engraved into gold, a fine layer of enamel, a diamond placed within a translucent cloud.
Featured image: © Van Cleef & Arpels / Clément Rousset – Studio Contraste SARL.
