Quickness

We continue our journey with Calvino’s second theme, Quickness, which he defined as a characteristic value of time.

The Italian writer divided time into mechanical time and poetic time, with the former measured in seconds and the latter in emotion. The watches of Van Cleef & Arpels bring together both kinds of time, breathing poetry to the inescapable flow of seconds, minutes and hours. The Maison devised a novel approach to Watchmaking, by aiming to create watches with the same uniqueness, beauty, and preciousness as jewelry.

In the 1920s, most timepieces were refined pendants, called lapel watches, and were attached to clothes with a clip. Subject to growing demand from customers for wristwatches – which were more convenient and practical – Van Cleef & Arpels began to study their aesthetics and movement. Etiquette dictated that a lady should never look at the time in public, so the Maison created secret watches with concealed dials.

Take your time looking around!