Van Cleef & Arpels "Pierre Arpels" The Collection - Gold & Steel - Large Model - 1985 (full set)

The one you end up buying twice.

Description

The Pierre Arpels watch, known as the "PA 49", is all in one line. A perfectly round case, a bezel ringed with 18-carat yellow gold and steel, Roman numeral hour markers, and nothing else. The design has barely changed since 1949, which speaks volumes about its timelessness.

What makes this watch special are its lugs. Thin, articulated bars of gold and steel connect the case to the bracelet, with no visible horns or soldering: the watch seems simply placed on the leather. It's the kind of detail you only notice on second glance, and then you can't take your eyes off it.

The date at 3 o'clock, the seconds hand and the quartz movement make it a decidedly practical watch for everyday life. Also, the combination of gold and steel allows it to match anything you already wear, be it yellow gold, white gold, silver or steel.

The little extra of this piece? It comes with its documents and its Van Cleef & Arpels pouch.

How to wear it?

With its 30 millimeters, this Pierre Arpels has just the right presence without ever being overbearing. It can be worn with jeans as well as with a more dressed-up outfit, and that's precisely what Pierre Arpels was looking for: a watch that imposes nothing.

It's also a watch that can be seen equally on a female or male wrist, and Françoise is currently offering the small 24mm model. The same design, the same bezel, the same lugs, in a reduced format. Worn side by side, the two watches form an obvious pair, and few models are as well suited to being shared...

Why did Françoise choose it?

Because at Van Cleef & Arpels, there's a way of making watches that is unlike anyone else. The Maison is primarily a jeweler, and yet its most famous watch is the most minimalist in its catalog. Françoise finds great elegance in this restraint.

She also likes its chic-sporty side, this blend of steel and gold evoking luxury and subtlety. Modest in appearance, very carefully executed: it's an everyday watch from one of the great Maisons of Place Vendôme, and that phrase is not often encountered.

The original case and papers make it even harder to pass up.

History

The history of the Maison Van Cleef & Arpels began with the marriage of Estelle Arpels, daughter of a precious stone dealer, and Alfred Van Cleef, from a line of Belgian and Dutch artisans specializing in stone cutting. Charles, Louis and Julien Arpels, Estelle's brothers, quickly joined their brother-in-law. The signature was registered in 1906, the year the first boutique opened at 22 Place Vendôme.

The PA model was designed in 1949 by Pierre Arpels, for himself. He had no intention of commercializing it: the watch was first reproduced for a privileged few, before entering the Maison's collections in 1971 under the name "PA 49".

It has never left. Available in multiple dials and materials, it is still in the catalog today, faithful to the original design. It is one of the rare watch models that can be said to have never needed to be redesigned.