In 2000, Nicolas Bos joined Van Cleef & Arpels as Marketing Director. He is now Chairman and CEO of this shrine to luxury on Place Vendôme, making sure the poetry of time reigns supreme there.
Nicolas Bos is most at home in an artistic environment – and that’s why he’s remained loyal to Van Cleef & Arpels for 20 years now. The internationally renowned jewellery maison has been recognised for its superlative creativity since 1906. Each of Bos’ decisions honours a legacy totalling over a century’s worth of history and innovations – as well as securing a place in today’s world.
With a man’s perspective on the woman’s world of jewellery, he has used jewellery expertise to offer a whole new take on watches, marshalling all the artistry, expertise, craftsmanship, and magic of precious stones to measure the passage of time. From fine jewellery to fine watchmaking is but a step – one taken by Nicolas Bos when he created the ‘poetry of time’ concept, embodied by jewelled timepieces which, over and above the display of hours and minutes, actually tell a story, by means of automatons. As a result, poetry is everywhere in Van Cleef & Arpels watchmaking collections, and enduringly so. Nicolas Bos is proud of that, and has no fear of the brand losing its appeal. “Just like nature, ballet, and art in general, poetry offers an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Van Cleef & Arpels’ self-imposed challenge is to reinvent itself in every collection. Achieving that involves keeping an open, inquisitive eye on the world around us. Constant creativity is fuelled by renewing our artistic expression and interpretations. Besides, I don’t believe the world will ever be able to do without poetry, or tire of it, and neither will our clients. They’re aesthetes, sensitive to all things delicate and feminine, and permanently in love with elegance and refinement.” Rest assured: future treasures from Van Cleef & Arpels will be telling us beautiful stories, sharing genuine artistic endeavours with us as they do so. Nicolas Bos has encapsulated the poetry of time notion in timepieces that combine expertise, creativity, and sensitivity.
*Written by Hervé Borne
*On the occasion of GMT Magazine and WorldTempus' 20th anniversary, we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book is available on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with a 10% discount if you use the following code: WT2021.
