Unveiled at the 2025 Geneva Watch Exhibition, the Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate by Van Cleef & Arpels is a poetic masterpiece four years in the making. Powered by an all-new automaton movement, it brings to life a romantic rendezvous set in a 19th-century Parisian open-air café.
The enchanting dial depicts a lovers’ meeting under the Parisian night sky. Crafted by master enamellers, it combines Grisaille enamel and Colored Grisaille enamel techniques to create a sense of depth and storytelling. Against a deep blue background, layers of Limoges white enamel and varying blue shades form a striking contrast, while touches of warm yellow enamel evoke the glow of café lights. Each dial requires dozens of firings and over 40 hours of meticulous craftsmanship. The cobblestone square, rendered in white gold engraving, faithfully recreates the texture of Parisian streets.
The watch features the maison’s signature retrograde display — the left subdial for hours and the right for minutes. At noon and midnight, as the star-shaped hands reach the top of their arcs, the automaton animation begins: the lovers step forward, their articulated arms and graceful movements culminating in a tender kiss at the center of the square. A button discreetly placed at 7 o’clock on the case side allows the wearer to replay this poetic moment at will. The animation is powered entirely by the pusher mechanism, ensuring that repeated activations do not affect the mainspring or timekeeping precision.
The 38mm white gold case houses an automatic movement offering a 36-hour power reserve, enhanced by Van Cleef & Arpels’ in-house retrograde module. Turning the watch over reveals an exquisite relief engraving of the lovers dancing hand in hand beneath a starlit sky — a perfect continuation of the story depicted on the dial.
The watch is completed with a blue alligator leather strap and a white gold pin buckle.
Official retail price: €168,000
Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Bal des Amoureux Automate Automaton Watch
38mm 18K white gold case, diamond-set bezel, and white gold crown set with a brilliant-cut diamond. Sapphire crystal glass. Grisaille and Coloured Grisaille enamel dial with star-shaped hands. Powered by a self-winding mechanical movement offering a 36-hour power reserve. Blue alligator leather strap with white gold pin buckle. Water-resistant to 30 metres.
Complications: Automaton animation; retrograde hour and minute hands.
