THE LOVERS ASSEMBLE
The gentle rain splashed lightly on the cobblestones in front of the Hotel Lutetia, causing the guests, decked out in tuxes and evening gowns, to squirm slightly as they attempted to avoid getting wet. Outside the hotel, a platoon of executive cars and an army of staff, dressed in black suits and each clutching a brolly, attempted their best to shield the guests from the uninviting Parisian weather. We’d been warned that there would be quite a bit of poor weather ahead of us, but I had confidence that the sheer force of my presence would bring the sun to the City of Love. Turns out, I was wrong.
This was the first formal watch event that Van Cleef & Arpels had organised outside of the Geneva fair since they exited the show last year, its solo debut, and the seats to the show were sold out. We’d swung by the workshop in Meyrin just prior to the event, where we had the opportunity to discover the comprehensive research and development arm of the brand, along with its seriously impressive enamelling facilities and operations. According to Van Cleef, the brand has a staff of 20 enamelers, covering a plethora of old and revived enamelling techniques that range from paillonné to its latest development, coloured grisaille. And
