Van Cleef et Arpels Mysterious Hours

A highly unusual and super attractive massive gold bracelet watch by Van Cleef & Arpels. The watch has been produced in the 1950’s in France and is preserved in very strong condition. All the lines and hallmarks remain incredibly sharp. The watch has a unique design in which the bracelet pattern is continued on the solid gold dial. They achieved this effect by pressing the dial so it actually has a lot of depth to it. The signature and numerals are in black and contain that typical French charm for this period. The baton hands are in blued steel. The watch still has the original flat gold crown. Inside is a manual winding movement in good condition. The bracelet is solid and comes at full length, measuring around 20cm. The bracelet is closed by a hidden deployant clasp that clicks inside the clasp. This is a very innovative system, considering the period of production. This system was recently re-introduced by Bvlgari as a novelty, some 70 years later. The deployant itself is in rose gold, as we also often see on Cartier watches from this period. When closed, from the outside the bracelet seemingly continues without interruption, as they also applied the link pattern to the clasp. The watch contains a large amount of numbers and hallmarks, which we will break down here shortly. Starting on the outer case back, we see an inventory as well as a serial number. The serial number is repeated inside the case back, where we also find the letters VC stamped, for Van Cleef. The inner case contains a beautiful circular finish. Then we have a total of 6 eagle hallmarks which indicate we are dealing with a french production gold product here. These hallmarks are loved by collectors, and to see this many on one product in perfect condition is highly unusual. There is one in the inner case back, One on the side of the case and a total of 4 on the deployant system. 1 on each of the rose gold parts and two on the clasp. All in all this is a collectors piece that you will only encounter once. It wears as a mix between a watch and bracelet and is incredibly stylish. If you would like to know more, please contact us.