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Van Cleef & Arpels
Vintage Van Cleef & Arpels Braided Rope Band with Factory Diamond and Ruby Crown
Vintage Van Cleef & Arpels Braided Rope Band with Factory Diamond and Ruby Crown
Regular price
$67,800.00 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$67,800.00 USD
Quantity
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The watch features a round case in 18-karat yellow gold housing a Swiss quartz movement. The dial is a clean, unindexed warm brown or cognac-toned gold surface, signed VAN CLEEF & ARPELS and QUARTZ, with two slender elongated sword-form hands as the sole timekeeping indicators, the minimalist treatment placing all visual emphasis on the stone-set case and bracelet. The bezel is set with a continuous alternating sequence of round brilliant-cut diamonds and round ruby cabochons running the full circumference, creating a vivid red-and-white color rhythm around the dial, and the crown is capped with a ruby cabochon. The bracelet is a wide, multi-strand herringbone or chevron-weave in 18-karat yellow gold, the surface texture of the woven links providing a warm, directional ground that complements the polished case. The piece closes on the reverse with a fold-over clasp in polished yellow gold.
Van Cleef & Arpels began producing gem-set jeweled watches in earnest from the 1950s onward, and the alternating diamond-and-ruby bezel combined with a warm-toned unindexed dial is a recognizable expression of the house's approach to the watch as a jewel rather than a timepiece. The herringbone bracelet is among the most technically refined of the woven-gold formats and was widely used by French houses for their high-end watch productions of the 1970s and 1980s. It is stamped with "Swiss made, 750" on the clasp and "18K, Swiss". Both the clasp and back of the dial have various makers marks and numbers to signify its legitimacy.
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