Van Cleef & Arpels Unveils New Timepieces at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026
Van Cleef & Arpels announced new watches at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026. They showcased the "Midnight Jour Nuit Phases de Lune Watch" featuring complex mechanisms with a lunar mystery theme, demonstrating the brand's tradition and innovation.
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- 📰 Published: April 15, 2026 at 02:00
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Van Cleef & Arpels has pursued the dream of living in harmony with the rhythms of the cosmos for over a century. The Maison, filled with awe for the grand spectacle woven by the stars and celestial bodies, has paid tribute to the wonders of the heavens through works that showcase its exceptional expertise. As early as 1929, it produced a pocket watch equipped with a complex mechanism displaying the moon phase, and in the 1950s, it once again turned its gaze to the night sky, embodying these aspirations in creations like the Meteore Secret Watch.
This year, the Maison focuses its attention on the subtle shifts of the moon through new timepieces in the Poetic Complications collection. Furthermore, the new Poetic Astronomy creations feature elegant compositions that embody the pinnacle of enamel artistry, marking time with harmonious transitions from one moment to the next. Meanwhile, Van Cleef & Arpels' signature jewelry that tells time expresses the profundity of the sky using rare materials. Additionally, the Extraordinary Dials collection welcomes two new watches that depict legendary love stories unfolding against a celestial backdrop.
Midnight Jour Nuit Phases de Lune Watch
This time, Van Cleef & Arpels is enriching the Jour Nuit collection, born in 2008 and renewed in 2024, with new creations that celebrate the moon, which has been a source of inspiration for the Maison for many years. Inside this watch's case, two complications are layered. One drives the Day/Night display, which embodies the collection's name, Jour Nuit. The other, an "astronomical" complication, displays the current moon phase, i.e., the shape of the moon in the sky at this very moment. Such moon phase display functions already appeared in Van Cleef & Arpels' watchmaking history in 1929.
Within the 42mm white gold case of the Midnight creation, black Murano aventurine glass spreads across the dial, emitting a strong radiance like the night sky. Van Cleef & Arpels' Innovation department was involved in the development of this material, achieving a depth of color and luster in bronze tones to perfectly express the beauty of the night sky. As the day unfolds, the guilloché-engraved gold sun gradually disappears, replaced by a moon of white mother-of-pearl surrounded by acrylic-painted stars. Beyond the horizon, rendered by guilloché-engraved mother-of-pearl painted in a black-to-white gradient, two celestial bodies each appear and disappear. This daily chase of celestial bodies is realized through the movement of the 24-hour rotating disc that characterizes the Jour Nuit watch. This Day/Night display is enhanced by an effect that subtly changes the moon's appearance in response to the eternal 29.5-day cycle of its phases.
Even when the moon is hidden behind the horizon, its appearance can be confirmed on demand by pressing the button on the side of the case. When the animation is activated, the dial rotates 360 degrees over approximately 10 seconds, revealing the moon, Earth's satellite, against a backdrop of star-studded decorations.
The narrative continues onto the white gold case back, adorned with engravings reminiscent of the lunar surface. On the rotor, a sapphire crystal depicts the Earth in enamel. The crystal is further embellished with miniature-painted planets, emitting a soft glow against a guilloché background. In essence, the case back presents the cosmos viewed not from Earth, but from the Moon, inverting the perspective shown on the dial.
Illuminating the Mystery of the Moon
The decoration of the watch's movement is brought to life by linking two discs that rotate at their own unique speeds. The first disc, covering the underside of the case, depicts the sun chasing the moon in a 24-hour cycle. A more discreet second disc rotates once every 24 hours and 16 minutes and 27 seconds, displaying the form of the moon, Earth's satellite, with subtle, almost imperceptible changes day by day.
This year, the Maison focuses its attention on the subtle shifts of the moon through new timepieces in the Poetic Complications collection. Furthermore, the new Poetic Astronomy creations feature elegant compositions that embody the pinnacle of enamel artistry, marking time with harmonious transitions from one moment to the next. Meanwhile, Van Cleef & Arpels' signature jewelry that tells time expresses the profundity of the sky using rare materials. Additionally, the Extraordinary Dials collection welcomes two new watches that depict legendary love stories unfolding against a celestial backdrop.
Midnight Jour Nuit Phases de Lune Watch
This time, Van Cleef & Arpels is enriching the Jour Nuit collection, born in 2008 and renewed in 2024, with new creations that celebrate the moon, which has been a source of inspiration for the Maison for many years. Inside this watch's case, two complications are layered. One drives the Day/Night display, which embodies the collection's name, Jour Nuit. The other, an "astronomical" complication, displays the current moon phase, i.e., the shape of the moon in the sky at this very moment. Such moon phase display functions already appeared in Van Cleef & Arpels' watchmaking history in 1929.
Within the 42mm white gold case of the Midnight creation, black Murano aventurine glass spreads across the dial, emitting a strong radiance like the night sky. Van Cleef & Arpels' Innovation department was involved in the development of this material, achieving a depth of color and luster in bronze tones to perfectly express the beauty of the night sky. As the day unfolds, the guilloché-engraved gold sun gradually disappears, replaced by a moon of white mother-of-pearl surrounded by acrylic-painted stars. Beyond the horizon, rendered by guilloché-engraved mother-of-pearl painted in a black-to-white gradient, two celestial bodies each appear and disappear. This daily chase of celestial bodies is realized through the movement of the 24-hour rotating disc that characterizes the Jour Nuit watch. This Day/Night display is enhanced by an effect that subtly changes the moon's appearance in response to the eternal 29.5-day cycle of its phases.
Even when the moon is hidden behind the horizon, its appearance can be confirmed on demand by pressing the button on the side of the case. When the animation is activated, the dial rotates 360 degrees over approximately 10 seconds, revealing the moon, Earth's satellite, against a backdrop of star-studded decorations.
The narrative continues onto the white gold case back, adorned with engravings reminiscent of the lunar surface. On the rotor, a sapphire crystal depicts the Earth in enamel. The crystal is further embellished with miniature-painted planets, emitting a soft glow against a guilloché background. In essence, the case back presents the cosmos viewed not from Earth, but from the Moon, inverting the perspective shown on the dial.
Illuminating the Mystery of the Moon
The decoration of the watch's movement is brought to life by linking two discs that rotate at their own unique speeds. The first disc, covering the underside of the case, depicts the sun chasing the moon in a 24-hour cycle. A more discreet second disc rotates once every 24 hours and 16 minutes and 27 seconds, displaying the form of the moon, Earth's satellite, with subtle, almost imperceptible changes day by day.