Swisswatches is launching its first ‘Boutique Travel Guide’ for its watch community. In this section, we want to showcase the many watch boutiques that are worth visiting, but also immerse ourselves in their vibrant neighbourhoods. What does the city have to offer? Where can you find the best drinks, a particularly good restaurant, or perhaps an insider tip? A travel guide for watch lovers who want to know what else they can experience in the city around their boutique visit.
Van Cleef & Arpels always transports you to a kind of fairy-tale forest. Whether with watches and jewellery, with its stand at Watches & Wonders or, most recently, when you enter the French luxury brand’s new boutique in Frankfurt am Main on the prestigious Goethestraße.
From fairies to fairy-tale motifs from flora and fauna, entire scenes that seem to have sprung from romantic literature, to understated elegance – all this characterises the watches and jewellery from Van Cleef & Arpels. Sometimes more, sometimes less figurative, sometimes more, sometimes less extravagant, they share a preference for high-quality materials such as gold, coloured gemstones, diamonds, platinum, enamel and mother-of-pearl, as well as exquisite goldsmithing and complex watch technology.
A visit to the new boutique thus becomes a poetic journey of discovery – from fairy-tale luxury to understated luxury. This is stylishly reflected in the architecture of the Frankfurt boutique, which covers 420 square metres and three floors.
Inviting atmosphere in the new Van Cleef & Arpels boutique
On the outside, the new boutique of the French jewellery and watch brand features an Art Deco-inspired façade. Its delicate ornamentation is reminiscent of the famous enamel toiletries cases by Van Cleef & Arpels from the 1920s.
Inside, lingering and enjoying yourself is expressly encouraged. This is clearly evident from the elegant wine bar in the basement as soon as you enter the boutique.
One floor up, the Salon Poétique invites you to stroll along the display cases and relax and immerse yourself in the world of Van Cleef & Arpels at one of the consultation areas. Once you reach the top floor, you will find a dining room for special moments.
The route through the three floors leads via a historic staircase, which, thanks to nature-inspired panoramic wallpaper, gives the impression of being surrounded by a gently cloudy sky.
Recurring bas-reliefs with a textured surface and black patina on the walls create a dynamic connection between the areas and underline the overall aesthetic concept of the boutique.
Selected mechanical watches
In addition to jewellery and quartz watches, the range at the Van Cleef & Arpels boutique in Frankfurt includes carefully selected timepieces with mechanical movements. Currently, the Lady Arpels Pont des Amoureux, Lady Arpels Bals des Amoureux Automate, Lady Féerie Or Rose and Lady Arpels Day & Night (not available online) models are available to discover.
Exhibition: “Welcome to the world of Van Cleef & Arpels”
To mark the opening of its new boutique in Frankfurt am Main, the brand is presenting a surprise exhibition that provides information about its roots, DNA, craftsmanship and philosophy. Van Cleef & Arpels has compiled the most iconic creations from 1906 to 1953 into the Patrimonial Collection.
One of the highlights is a version of the Cadenas wristwatch from 1944. The watch was first introduced in 1935 and is characterised by the transformation of a padlock into a precious timepiece. With this design, Van Cleef & Arpels took up the concept of readymades developed by the painter and object artist Marcel Duchamp.
To this day, the Cadenas remains part of the Van Cleef & Arpels collection in various materials. The exhibition “Welcome to the World of Van Cleef & Arpels” can be seen until mid-November at the Frankfurt boutique at Goethestraße 26.
Craftsmanship and imaginative aesthetics
Van Cleef & Arpels’ romantic yet sophisticated approach is no coincidence and has everything to do with the brand’s founders. Estelle Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef married in 1895. Both came from families of jewellery dealers and shared the same passion for innovation and precious materials.
In 1906, this love story led to the opening of the first boutique on the famous Place Vendôme in Paris and the founding of the Van Cleef & Arpels company. In 1926, Renée Puissant, daughter of the founding couple, was appointed artistic director of the Maison. With great imagination, she developed the style that remains characteristic of the company to this day.
Not far from the Städel Museum, a neo-gothic style city villa will reopen its doors to guests this autumn. Managed by the Althoff Collection, The Florentin is an urban retreat and an oasis in the middle of Frankfurt’s urban jungle, inviting guests to linger The listed city villa, built in 1901 and characterised by its projecting bays, corner tower and leafy winter garden, houses 147 luxurious rooms and suites. Designed with a minimalist aesthetic in shades of beige and green and complemented by natural materials such as marble in the bathrooms, complete with rain showers, it offers a welcoming haven of relaxation. After a day of sightseeing, guests can unwind in the spa, which features five treatment rooms, a spacious indoor pool and a variety of saunas. Culinary delights await in two restaurants. At The Garden, open all day, one can enjoy breakfast or dinner in the impressive courtyard. Meanwhile, the Destination restaurant, under the direction of head chef Niclas Nußbaumer,who previously earned two Michelin stars at Mühle in Schluchsee, presents French cuisine infused with Japanese flavours and textures.
A ten-minute walk from the Van Cleef & Arpels boutique lies Gregor’s Boutique Vinothek. Here, guests can browse an exquisite wine selection or simply enjoy a glass paired with delicious Mediterranean dishes. Since 2022, trained winemaker and oenologist Gregor Bernd has created a space that blends wine bar, bistro and wine shop. The focus is on French and Italian wines, with an emphasis on bottles from small vineyards that Gregor regularly visits, sourcing directly without intermediaries. The culinary experience is rounded off with creations by Luigi Fabbri.
Refined pan-Asian cuisine is served at Moriki, located on the ground floor of the Deutsche Bank towers. Since 2013, chef The Duc Ngo has been dedicated to reinterpreting Japanese cuisine. The extensive menu ranges from Wagyu tacos to ‘Apricot Miso’, a dessert of apricot ice cream with white chocolate and miso. Guests can enjoy their meals à la carte or as part of a set menu, either inside – where floor-to-ceiling windows create a bright, spacious atmosphere – or outside on the terrace. Adding to the experience is a drinks list praised by the New York Times as making Moriki ‘the place to go in Frankfurt’, featuring indulgent signature cocktails such as the Osaka Gimlet with jasmine sake and yuzu cordial, alongside a curated selection of Japanese whiskies and gins.
Just a few minutes’ walk from Moriki stands the Alte Oper, one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. Originally opened in 1880 and carefully rebuilt after wartime destruction, it now hosts more than 460 events each year. Its programme spans a wide spectrum, ranging from classical concerts and jazz to pop and renowned musical productions. The vibrant atmosphere can already be felt on the Opernplatz in front of the building, where cafés and the striking Lucae Fountain invite passers-by to linger before stepping into the festive foyer. An evening at the Alte Oper is therefore much more than just a concert, as it adds a cultural highlight to any trip to Frankfurt that you will not soon forget.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
