Van Cleef & Arpels unveils a new automaton at Watches and Wonders in Geneva this year, continuing its series of pieces inspired by nature started in 2022.

The flower of the Floraison du Nénuphar automaton opens on demand and releases a butterfly taking flight.

Accompanied by crystalline music, a butterfly rises above a dome of yellow gold set with yellow sapphires of two shades, spessartite garnets and diamonds that gleam like the sun from the center of a delicate corolla.

On a white gold structure adorned with turquoise and diamonds, its wings of plique-à-jour enamel move realistically, batting a few seconds at a time for a natural rhythm. The butterfly then returns to its place at the center of the flower, which simultaneously and gently closes all its petals.

The delicate creature then returns to its place at the center of the flower, which gently closes all its petals.

The fully sculpted base of the Floraison du Nénuphar automaton is made of two pieces of griotte marble and a shattuckite bowl – a material composed of copper silicates with tones ranging from blue to green. These materials, chosen with care by the Maison’s gemologists, were minutely cut and polished to bring out their unique character and verve.

To complete the creation, a white-gold fairy set with three shades of blue sapphires graces the base of the object, where a rotating ring tells the hours.