SEEN Breakfast at Van Cleef & Arpels
On 25 October, the SEEN community met in a quiet corner of Van Cleef & Arpels’ London space: an elegant morning of coffee, light conversation and reflection. The gathering brought together women from diverse fields - artists, technologists, curators, writers, each drawn into a common inquiry: what happens when beauty meets time?
Within the Maison’s heritage we encountered watches that tell stories: lovers on a bridge, secret watches hidden in jewels, craftsmanship born of narrative. For the Maison, timepieces begin not with mechanics but with meaning.
Our conversation moved between the personal and the universal: how we perceive time, how we allow beauty to shift with us. As one reflection captured: “Time isn’t objective, it emerges from memory and change.” In that light we realised: we are not mere observers of time: we are time.
This event marks a new phase for SEEN, not simply as a gathering, but as a community in motion.
We thank every participant for bringing their insight and energy. The morning was made luminous by your presence.
Our First Gathering
On September 12, SEEN held its very first dinner.
I knew from the beginning that each gathering had to feel distinct, a space chosen with intention and carrying its own character. That is why I settled on the library of a private gentlemen’s club in St James’s. At first I hesitated. The room was quiet, lined with books, but surrounded by corridors filled with men in suits. Yet it was exactly this contrast that convinced me. It became a hidden room where women could meet, exchange thoughts, and set their own rhythm.
The evening began gently with introductions and light conversation. Soon the tempo shifted. Each voice entered the circle and what started as a calm exchange grew into a charged dialogue. We found ourselves speaking about ambition and healing, silence and voice, work and creativity. The energy moved quickly but never felt rushed. It felt necessary, as if each of us carried a question that resonated with the others.
I had prepared a program with a set of books to spark reflection, contrast cards designed as mirrors of our inner states, and short essays. These were only supporting elements. The true essence of the evening came from the openness of the women present and how naturally we discovered a common thread. Each of us was standing at a moment of transition, asking where to go next.
The dinner was intimate and almost secretive. Only five women sat at the table, yet it left us with a sense of depth and renewal. Each guest walked away with more questions than answers and perhaps a sharper awareness of her own path. For me it was the clearest sign yet that SEEN has meaning and that more gatherings must follow.
Continue the reflection:
