Van Cleef & Arpels depicts time with poetic expression. However, watch enthusiasts are well aware that beneath the surface lies a hidden mastery of craftsmanship. The new Lady Arpels Heure Florale tells the time with 12 flowers blooming on the dial. Let's uncover some of its secrets.
Automatic winding. A mechanical flower clock that tells the time by opening one flower every hour. 18KRG (diameter 38mm). Estimated price: 31,020,000 yen.
[Published in March 2022]
A modern floral clock made with enamel and fine engraving
The dial of the Lady Arpels Heure Florale is decorated with 12 flowers, each decorated with fine engraving and enamel techniques. Each flower has five petals, and opens one at a time to tell the time. Although there is a minute display at 9 o'clock on the side of the case, it still only gives a rough indication of the time.
This is exactly the "flower clock" invented by the 18th century botanist Carl von Linnaeus. Linnaeus thought that if he filled a garden with flowers that bloom at different times throughout the day, the garden itself could become a clock. The Yule Floral concept is a modern, mechanical interpretation of this idea.
The 12 flowers blooming randomly mark the passage of time
However, if the order in which the flowers decorating the dial open is different between morning and afternoon, and if the order of opening changes again when the date changes, one can imagine that the mechanism would be quite complex. Furthermore, the flowers do not open one by one, but rather close first and then flowers in different locations open.
In other words, there is one flower open at 1 o'clock, but at 2 o'clock, it is not simply that another flower opens, but rather that all of the flowers close and then two different flowers open. As always with Van Cleef & Arpels, the mechanism that controls the poetic presentation on the dial is extremely complex.
166 components/266 gears control the flowering
Even though the flowers bloom randomly, if there is no pattern to it, it would not function as a machine. However, Yule Floral's flowering rotation is based on a three-cycle system, so it will return to the same cycle in the morning of one day and the afternoon of the following day.
This rotation is completely controlled by 266 gears distributed among 166 components. Although the Youle Floral uses cams in some parts, most of the movement is carried out solely by the interlocking gears. The starting point for this is the outer ring, which also displays the minutes.
