There are watches that tell time. And then there are watches that are also conversation starters, works of art and valued treasures.

For more than a century, Van Cleef & Arpels has belonged firmly in the latter category. The French Maison has always approached watchmaking through the same imaginative lens that defines its jewelry: transforming precious materials and extraordinary craftsmanship into miniature worlds of beauty, movement and emotion. This year, Van Cleef & Arpels is once again looking upward.

Unveiled at Watches and Wonders 2026 in Geneva, the Maison’s latest creations are united under the theme Poetry of the Heavens, drawing inspiration from the Moon, stars and infinite depth of the night sky. It is a fitting theme for a house whose fascination with the cosmos stretches back almost to its beginnings. One of its earliest sales records, from 1906, mentions a crescent moon set with a sapphire and diamonds. In 1929, Van Cleef & Arpels created a pocket watch displaying the phases of the Moon, followed by celestial creations including its Zodiac medallions and the Meteor secret watch in the decades that followed.

Nearly a century later, the Moon is once again taking centre stage. The new Midnight Jour Nuit Phase de Lune expands the Maison’s Jour Nuit collection, first introduced in 2008 and revisited in 2024. The result feels less like checking the time and more like carrying a miniature night sky on your wrist – which, ultimately, is exactly the point. Van Cleef & Arpels refers to this approach as its Poetry of Time: watchmaking in which technical mastery exists in service of imagination and emotion. Below is a selection of some of my all-time favourite timepieces from the brand, ranging from its latest releases to its most iconic designs. 

A jewel that tells time

A major standout is the new Perlée watch, which translates one of Van Cleef & Arpels’ most recognizable jewelry signatures into a particularly beautiful timepiece. The watch is framed by two rows of the polished golden beads associated with the Perlée collection. Inside is an aventurine glass dial in a rich midnight blue that immediately evokes a star-filled sky.

Look more closely and there is even more happening. The aventurine glass has a radiating guilloché effect that catches the light, while diamonds line the edge of the white gold case and the flange. The overall effect is delicate but incredibly luminous. At just 23mm, this is very much a jewelry watch. The interchangeable alligator straps are another thoughtful detail, allowing the look of the watch to change depending on the occasion.

A secret worth discovering

Meanwhile, the Ludo Secret watch takes us in a completely different direction – and back into the Van Cleef & Arpels archives. The original Ludo bracelet dates to 1934 and was inspired by the appearance of a belt, reflecting the Maison’s longstanding relationship with couture and its love of trompe-l’oeil. The new sapphire Ludo Secret watch revisits a design from 1949.

Here, mirror-polished yellow gold “briquette” links are individually assembled and adjusted by hand to create a flexible bracelet that appears almost woven around the wrist. The combination of yellow gold and intensely blue sapphires is spectacular. The stones form crescent-shaped motifs across the bracelet, but the most delightful detail is hidden.

Press the two sides of the jewelry “buckle” simultaneously and it opens to reveal a white guilloché mother-of-pearl watch dial beneath. A baguette-cut sapphire marks 12 o’clock.

It is glamorous, playful and unexpected – and a wonderful example of something Van Cleef & Arpels has done exceptionally well for decades: making the mechanics of a piece disappear behind its beauty.

My favourites: the Lady Arpels universe

As beautiful as these creations are, my personal favourites are the pieces within the wider Lady Arpels universe. This is where Van Cleef & Arpels’ particular approach to watchmaking becomes most apparent. Instead of beginning with the practical purpose of measuring hours and minutes, the Maison seems to begin with a story. For example, Van Cleef & Arpels offers an unprecedented women’s version of the Midnight Planétarium watch, as part of the Poetic Astronomy universe. Distinguished by its refined aesthetic and automatic movement, developed specifically for the Maison, the Lady Arpels Planétarium watch depicts the Sun and the nearest planets: Mercury, Venus and Earth, the latter accompanied by its satellite, the Moon. 

Love. Nature. Astronomy. Time becomes the canvas.

This philosophy has also been especially visible through the Maison’s Poetic Complications collection since its launch in 2006. Over the years, pieces such as Lady Arpels Centenaire, Pont des Amoureux, Jour Nuit and Heures Florales have brought together sophisticated mechanical movements, métiers d’art and High Jewelry craftsmanship.

For 2026, that celestial storytelling continues with two new Extraordinary Dials creations: the Lady Rencontre Céleste and Lady Retrouvailles Célestes watches. The pair tells the story of the legendary lovers Vega and Altair, also known as Zhinu and Niulang – two figures separated in the heavens and represented by stars. Against elaborate celestial backgrounds, Van Cleef & Arpels combines precious stones, mother-of-pearl, enamel and miniature painting to transform their story into two extraordinarily detailed watch dials.

Lady Rencontre Céleste is crafted in white gold with sapphires, diamonds, white mother-of-pearl and enamel, while Lady Retrouvailles Célestes introduces rose gold and pink sapphires alongside white gold, diamonds, mother-of-pearl and enamel. These are tiny works of art.

There is extraordinary technical expertise behind all of these pieces, but you don’t need to understand every complication or every element of their construction to appreciate them. You simply have to look.

Photography courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels.