A new butterfly motif joins the Van Cleef & Arpels Lucky Spring jewelry and watch collection.
A new butterfly has landed at Van Cleef & Arpels. The winged beauty continues a design theme that has been in the brand’s DNA since it was founded in 1906. Enchanting and magical, the new butterfly, is set with rich blue agate and lapis lazuli. The motif adorns a ring, necklace, clip, and bracelet. It and flutters to life in the new Lady Lucky Spring Butterfly watch. The Lucky Spring jewelry collection was first introduced in 2021. It combines “two cherished themes of the Maison: nature and luck,” according to the brand. For the first time since its introduction in 2021, the new Lucky Spring collection pieces are set in yellow gold.
Nature’s Beauty
“An ode to nature’s vitality,” the Lucky Spring collection celebrates the time of the year “when nature awakens.” The jewelry’s vibrant blue and green colors invoke the joy and exuberance of the season. Like all of Van Cleef’s jewelry and watches, each Lucky Spring collection piece is entirely hand crafted.
Poetry in Motion
The new Lady Lucky Spring Butterfly watch brings the delicate winged creatures to life in all their glory. The timepiece features a new movement designed specifically to animate the flight of a butterfly ascending. It joins the brand’s extensive Poetic Complications watch offerings. As the minutes tick from zero to 60, a butterfly slowly soars up toward its companion on the right side of the dial. As soon as the hour advances and the butterfly reaches the top, the butterfly instantaneously returns to its starting position and begins a gradual ascension once again.
Defying Gravity
In contrast to a standard retrograde minutes display that moves clockwise, in the Lady Lucky Spring Butterfly watch, it moves counterclockwise to illustrate the butterfly’s flight. Van Cleef & Arpels Geneva-based Ateliers Horlogers developed the new movement, which is self-winding and has 36 hours of power reserve. The weight of the blue enameled minute hand with the agate and lapis butterfly at its tip required a very precise measure of energy to lift the butterfly on its flight.
An Intricate Dial
The left side of the watch’s dial is adorned with a bouquet of three mother-of-pearl plum blossoms and a lily of the valley bud, inside of which is an aperture for the jumping hour indicator. The flowers are each on a different level, creating a three-dimensional bouquet that further enhances the watch’s feeling of depth and its ethereal beauty. The watch’s guillochè dial is crafted of mother-of-pearl painted a rich shade of blue, and its bezel and crown are diamond-set. The new timepiece is available on a blue alligator strap or a fully diamond-set gold bracelet.
Flights of Fancy
The new Lucky Spring clip features a blue agate and lapis lazuli butterfly and is further “embellished with foliage in green agate” alongside a mother-of-pearl plum blossom and lily of the valley buds. Both of the flowers appear throughout other pieces in the collection.
Van Cleef chooses only the highest-quality stones with rich hues and consistent color. After the stones are chosen, they are then painstakingly cut and polished before being set.
A team of specialized artisans—including goldsmiths, stone cutters and setters—work together to complete each piece. At every stage of the production process, according to the brand, “each piece is polished on both the front and the back, as well as on the double-beaded contour to reveal gold’s radiance.” The effect is radiant indeed.