Van Cleef & Arpels Ludo

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Ludo

No. 42848 / 1327 Circa 1940 Secret wristwatch in 18k (750) yellow gold, diamonds and rubies Case: rectangular, with opening flaps, stamped with the Henri Kraig goldsmith's hallmark and signed Van Cleef & Arpels Dial: white, applied Arabic numerals and indexes, signed Van Cleef & Arpels Movement: mechanical, signed CH. Meylan Brassus & Genève Bracelet: “Ludo” in gold with “briquette” motif, clasp numbered “54.297” and signed Van Cleef & Arpels Wrist size: approx. 18 cm Dim.: 41 x 21 mm Gross weight: 23.50 g. With: a period case, a travel pouch Provenance: Kept in the family of the original owner since its acquisition. By descent to the current owner. An 18k yellow gold, diamond and ruby-set manual winding lady’s wristwatch with concealed dial, “Ludo” bracelet with clasp numbered and signed. With a presentation box from the period, a travel pouch. Bibliography: Van Cleef & Arpels, “Le Temps poétique”, Édition Cercle d'Art, Paris, 2009, a similar design, with variation of setting, reproduced p.157. Created in 1934, the Ludo bracelet is an emblematic jewel of the house of Van Cleef & Arpels. Named after the nickname of Louis Arpels, one of the founders of the house, it was nevertheless his wife, the model Hélène Arpels, who would become its most beautiful muse. Adorned with a motif evoking a belt buckle, Ludo would become one of the best-sellers of the 1930s and was available as a ring, watch and even a lapel clip. Two gouaches of watches created around 1937 are listed in the Van Cleef & Arpels archives, allowing us to precisely date the appearance of this design in the house's watch collections. The watch presented is comparable to the examples listed in the reference work "Le Temps poétique" published by Éditions Cercle d'Art in 2009, in which the original drawings are reproduced.