恭喜发财 / 恭喜發財 (Gōngxǐ fācái)
It is now a tradition for watch brands to commemorate Chinese New Year by creating beautiful, decorative, limited edition timepieces adorned with some symbolic depiction of the appropriate sign of the Chinese zodiac – often using rare, artistic techniques to pay tribute to the eastern calendar.
The Year of the Ox – which is the second animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle – begins on February 12, 2021.
Contrary to the western Gregorian calendar, which uses the solar day as its base unit, the traditional Chinese calendar is lunisolar, meaning it uses a solar calendar with the lunar cycle (29.53059 days) as its base unit.
Since one year comprising 12 lunar months (354.36707 days) is approximately 11 days too short compared with the solar year (365.242374 days), a leap month is sometimes added. As each month of the Chinese calendar (including leap months) begins on the day of a new moon, its length is either 29 or 30 days.
This means that when a year includes a leap month, it will be a 13-month year. On the other side, a year comprising 12 lunar months is shorter than the solar year.
This is the reason behind the variable date of Chinese New Year.
To celebrate the event, some high-end manufacturers have created special editions depicting some form of the hard-working ox. Let’s have a look at eight of them.
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Buffalo
Jaquet Droz has authentic historic ties to China, making these Chinese Zodiac limited editions a natural fit for the brand as well as a real feast for the eyes of watch lovers thanks to the brand’s predilection for artistic crafts.
L-R: Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Buffalo, Petite Heure Minute Buffalo 35 mm, and Petite Heure Minute Relief Buffalo in red gold
The first two variations of the Petite Heure Minute Buffalo depict a grazing buffalo against the backdrop of a misty Asian landscape featuring karstic geomorphologic stone formations.
Both the 35 mm diamond-set variation and the 41 mm non-set version with gold bezel are relatively unisex thanks to their beautifully displayed, miniature-painted motifs within sober framework.
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Buffalo
While, technically, the ox and the buffalo are not the same animal, they are very closely related. Jaquet Droz’s use of the buffalo’s likeness instead of that of an ox is a welcome variable.
For more information, please visit www.jaquet-droz.com/en/watches/ateliers-d-art/petite-heure-minute-buffalo.
Quick Facts Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Buffalo
Case: 41 x 12.1 mm, 18-karat red gold
Dial: ivory-colored high-fire enamel with miniature painting
Movement: automatic Caliber 2653.P with balance spring and pallet fork in silicon; 68-hour power reserve via double spring barrels; hand-painted red gold buffalo applied to rotor; 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 8 pieces
Price: $36,200
Quick Facts Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Buffalo diamond-set
Case: 35 x 10.75 mm, 18-karat red gold set with 232 diamonds (1.23 ct)
Dial: ivory-colored high-fire enamel with miniature painting
Movement: automatic Caliber 2653.P with balance spring and pallet fork in silicon; 68-hour power reserve via double spring barrels; hand-painted red gold buffalo applied to rotor; 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 8 pieces
Price: $41,100
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Buffalo
The Relief versions of the Petite Heure Minute Buffalo come in 41 mm red or white gold cases, and their dials are exquisite with a three-dimensional relief-engraved buffalo peacefully grazing near a plum tree laden with ruby-red blossoms.
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Buffalo in white gold with diamonds
According to Jaquet Droz, the plum tree symbolizes harmony between humans and nature as well as the earth and the sky. The rubies stand for bravery.
This beautifully arranged, relief-engraved scene is set against the backdrop of a jet-black onyx dial.
The diamonds of the white-gold version are set in an attractive double-row around the dial flange and the lugs. And the movements’ rotors are embellished with a hand-engraved buffalo.
For more information, please visit www.jaquet-droz.com/en/watches/ateliers-d-art/petite-heure-minute-relief-buffalo.
Quick Facts Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Buffalo
Case: 41 x 13.77 mm, 18-karat red gold
Dial: onyx dial, hand-engraved and hand-painted buffalo and plum tree; tree set with 27 rubies (0.3 ct)
Movement: automatic Caliber 2653.Si with balance spring and pallet fork in silicon; 68-hour power reserve via double spring barrels; 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency; hand-painted red gold buffalo applied to rotor
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 8 pieces
Price: $68,300
Quick Facts Petite Heure Minute Relief Buffalo
Case: 41 x 13.77 mm, 18-karat white gold set with 272 diamonds (1.03 ct)
Dial: onyx dial, hand-engraved and hand-painted buffalo and plum tree; tree set with 27 rubies (0.3 ct)>
Movement: automatic Caliber 2653.Si with balance spring and pallet fork in silicon; 68-hour power reserve via double spring barrels; 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency; hand-painted red gold buffalo applied to rotor
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 8 pieces
Price: $79,600
Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Ox
The Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Ox is dominated by its giant moon filling the upper half of the dial. This moon is more than just large and noticeable – what other maker allows its moon phase display to take up close to half the dial? – it is also shiny and luminous. Crafted in mother-of-pearl, the enormous lunar disk is also coated with Super-LumiNova.
Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Ox
The moon phase window with guilloche background also contains hand-painted constellations sprinkled with silver powder and painted with Super-LumiNova.
However distracting that moon and its surroundings may be, they don’t take away from the art found on the lower half of the dial involving an imposing 18-karat yellow gold engraved ox seeming to prance among beautiful hand-painted golden pagodas sprinkled with a pink gold powder.
The windows in the multi-story pagodas have also been embellished with luminous Super-LumiNova and at night is seems as they are inhabited.
Moonlit: Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Ox
All of this is placed on an unusual dial crafted in laminated hematite, a silver-gray-blackish mineral often used in jewelry that exhibits glittery silver flecks standing out from the black. I cannot think of another watch dial made of this material – if you know of any, please feel free to let me know in the comments.
To match the dial material, Arnold & Son has sourced a black alligator-skin strap also exhibiting silver flecks and embellished with genuine platinum thread stitching.
For more information, please visit www.arnoldandson.com/en/collections/metiers-d-arts/perpetual-moon-ox.
Quick Facts Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Ox
Case: 42 x 12.16 mm, red gold
Dial: hematite with hand-engraved yellow gold buffalo, hand-painted pagodas sprinkled with pink gold powder, luminous Super-LumiNova sky, hand-painted constellations with silver powder and luminous Super-LumiNova; mother-of-pearl moon disk with Super-LumiNova coating and guilloche background
Movement: manual winding Caliber A&S1512 with 90 hours of power reserve from twin spring barrels, 3 Hz/21,600 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes; moon phase display accurate to 122 years, second moon phase indication on back
Limitation: 8 pieces
Price: CHF 49,900
Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox
In an annual limited edition called Legend of the Chinese Zodiac, Vacheron Constantin’s artistic Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox, is based on the idea of a Chinese paper cutting art form called jianzhi.
Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox
A motif engraved into the gold dial using a bas relief technique representing leafy foliage stemming from Chinese iconography makes for a lovely background. After engraving, enamel is added in layers, each of which is successively fired in a kiln.
The dial provides a calendar in the truest sense of the word: its four windows respectively show the hours, minutes, day, and date. The placement of these windows in each of the four corners allows the beautiful arts to take place of pride on the dial, pushing the time to a secondary position to offer better appreciation for the art.
Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox
These watches are powered by automatic Caliber 2460 G4, which forms the basis of the brand’s various Métiers d’Art collection pieces – most recently the fabulous Métiers d’Art Les Aérostiers and Les Mécaniques Sauvages. Caliber 2460 G4 was introduced in 2005 in honor of Vacheron Constantin’s 250-year celebration (see How Vacheron Constantin Celebrated Its 250th Anniversary In 2005), bringing with it a technology the brand calls “dragging” and jumping disks, which indicate the hours, minutes, day, and date in small windows in the corners of the dial.
For more information, please visit www.vacheron-constantin.com/en/watches/metiers-d-art/metiers-d-art-the-legend-of-the-chinese-zodiac-year-of-the-ox.
Quick Facts Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Ox
Case: 40 x 12.74 mm, 18-karat red gold or platinum
Movement: automatic Caliber 2460 G4, 40-hour power reserve, 28,800 vph/4 Hz frequency, Geneva Seal
Dial: 18-karat gold, hand-engraved, high-fire enamel, hand-engraved platinum or gold pig
Functions: hours, minutes; weekday, date (all shown in windows)
Limitation: 12 pieces of each variation, available only in Vacheron Constantin boutiques
Price: €141,000/$130,000 (platinum); €116,000/$107,000 (red gold)
Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox
The annual Chopard L.U.C. XP horological tribute to the Chinese New Year combines arts, crafts, and technology originating in Switzerland, China, and Japan: Chopard Manufacture’s L.U.C XP model with its ultra-thin movement; Japanese expertise in lacquer; and China’s zodiacal symbolism. Chopard has been releasing these delicious editions based on the ultra-thin L.U.C. XP since 2013.
Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox
To achieve this artwork using urushi lacquer, Chopard cooperated with Yamada Heiando, a workshop founded in 1919 that counts the Japanese emperor and his family among its loyal customers. The master lacquer artist in charge of this particular work is called Minori Koizumi.
Making the urushi dial of the Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox
This gold-based dial contains several eye-catching elements, starting and ending, though, with the Maki-e technique, which sees gold flakes captured between the layers of lacquer from the Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Chinese lacquer) tree.
For more information, please visit www.chopard.com/intl/l-u-c-xp-urushi-year-of-the-ox.
Quick Facts Chopard L.U.C. XP Urushi Year of the Ox
Case: 39.5 x 6.8 mm, ethical pink gold
Movement: automatic Caliber L.U.C 96.17-L with micro rotor; 65-hour power reserve via two sets of twin spring barrels (Chopard Twin technology); 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Dial: hand-painted urushi lacquer
Functions: hours, minutes
Limitation: 88 pieces, available only in Chopard boutiques and the brand’s e-boutique
Price: $24,600
Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar
On the Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar’s busy dial, the Gregorian calendar rubs shoulders with the main indications of the Chinese calendar. Displays include a traditional double-hour indication, day, month with indication of leap months, signs of the zodiac, the five elements, and the ten celestial stems. The latter, along with the 12 animals of the zodiac, follow the 60-year cycle central to Chinese culture.
Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar in red gold
The depiction of moon phases is a key element in Blancpain’s complete calendars and this display is at 6 o’clock. Balancing that at 12 o’clock, a small ox represents this year’s Zodiac animal.
Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar in platinum
For more information, please see www.blancpain.com/en/news/blancpain-celebrates-chinese-new-year-limited-edition-traditional-chinese-calendar.
Quick Facts Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar
Case: 45 x 15 mm, platinum or red gold with ruby cabochon in crown, five under-lug correctors to adjust indications
Dial: high-fire enamel
Movement: automatic Blancpain Caliber 3638 with 7-day power reserve; 464 components including 39 jewels
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; traditional Chinese calendar with double-hour indication, signs of the zodiac, date, month of the Chinese calendar, indication of the five elements, the celestial stems and the leap months; Gregorian calendar with date, moon phases
Limitation: 50 pieces (platinum); non limited (red gold)
Price: $87,800
Piaget Altiplano Year of the Ox
Anita Porchet, a master of the enamel art form (and Gaïa Award winner), once again created the dial for Piaget’s Chinese zodiac-themed timepiece.
Piaget Altiplano Year of the Ox
Here Porchet used the cloisonné enamel technique to stage a frolicking ox looking off into the new year in delicate grey tones.
Piaget Altiplano Year of the Ox
For more information, please visit www.piaget.com/ww-en/watches/altiplano/white-gold-diamond-ultra-thin-mechanical-watch.
Quick Facts Piaget Altiplano Year of the Ox
Case: 38 mm, white gold set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 0.71 ct)
Dial: oveen-fired cloisonné enamel
Movement: manually wound Piaget Caliber 430P, ultra-thin, only 2.1 mm in height, 40-hour power reserve, 3 Hz/21,600 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes
Price: $67,500
Swatch Ox Rocks 2021
It isn’t new for Swatch to put out a special Chinese New Year edition, but I find the one released in late December 2020 for the Year of the Ox particularly attractive with its yin-yang oxy swirl in red and beige (symbolizing fire as well as prosperity) on the dial.
Swatch Ox Rocks 2021
Swarovski crystals form the oxen’s eyes, adding just the right amount of sparkle – though the fire on the inside of the black silicone strap isn’t too shabby in that respect, either.
Swatch Ox Rocks 2021
From Swatch’s “Big Bold” line, this very large, black, plastic case also comes with a special message written across the bottom of the bezel: “exist together in harmony.”
We could certainly all use a bit of that right now.
For more information, please visit www.swatch.com/en-us/chinese-new-year.
Quick Facts Swatch Ox Rocks 2021
Case: 47 x 11.75 mm, plastic
Movement: quartz
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds
Price: €125 / $125
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Dear Elizabeth, incredible … if it comes to the combination of fine watchmaking and gorgeous artwork, the masterpieces of VC Métiers d’Art or of Jaquet Droz are so outstanding. (only) These two brands embody the great old splendid style of beautiful designed objects like nobody else. Seeing the images of VC and JD in the article is a huge pleasure. It is pure priceless beauty. Nice to see it at least sometimes. I often ask myself – why do I never see watches of that kind in reality. Europe (or Germany) is not the market for this art category, isn´t it? Does it fit more to the Asian markets? The Swatch is a surprise. The dial looks so cute and funny. A very smiling encounter.