Celebrate The Year Of The Pig In Style With These Six Watches

By Tiziana Agnati
Accredited journalist and influencer specializing in luxury jewelry 

Usher in the Lunar New Year with these six watches in red. In Chinese culture, red is considered auspicious, which is why the color is so popular every Chinese New Year, adorning everything, from the lanterns that you hang in the patio to the clothes that you wear.

With the festive season being celebrated right now, look toward these six timepieces in this striking hue in order to attract more of that positive energy.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Celestial
If you fancy having the entire constellation on your wrist, this Rendez-Vous delivers an irresistible feminine expression of it. Dressed up in red with the different constellations enameled on the dial, the pink gold case also matches a bezel set with pink sapphires.

Breguet Marie-Antoinette “Dentelle”
The Dentelle watch evokes elegance with its distinctive lacework set with 89 diamonds around the 18K white gold case. A red ruby weighting about 1.3 carat and a red satin strap add fire to an otherwise icy mien that includes a white mother-of-pearl dial.

Franck Muller Watchland SA Long Island Peony
Known as the flower of riches and honour, the peony comes in a variety of soft pastel colours. Its loveliness - 8 of them in fact - now decorates the svelte rectangular profile of the Long Island with a rose gold case and a diamond-set bezel.

Cartier Tank Louis Cartier
The timeless Art Deco shape of the Tank get an uplift with a pink gold case, diamond-set bars on either side of the dial, the 8971 MC movement and, of course, a chic red leather strap.

TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer 01 Manchester United
This special edition chronograph celebrates TAG Heuer’s third season as Manchester United’s Official Timekeeper. Naturally the club’s color stands out from the logo positioned prominently at ‘9’ and the flange of the 60-second scale, to the hour, minute and chronograph central second hands. Paired with a perforated rubber strap in, what else, red.

GRAHAM Chronofighter Oversize Superlight Carbon
The red of the rubber strap decorated with Clous de Paris pattern makes an eye-catching contrast against the shiny black of the carbon composite case, a material that makes the watch extremely light despite its large 47 mm diameter. Red also appears on the central seconds hand and chronograph counters’ hands as well as the “Superlight Carbon” print.

Tiziana Agnati is a journalist and influencer specializing in luxury jewelry with digital expertise. Learn more about her on her Linkedin profile where she communicates regularly with 100,000 followers. 

Luxury Watches That Celebrate The Year Of The Monkey

Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi “Year of the Monkey”

The Chinese New Year, celebrated throughout Asia and in Chinese communities around the world, will be celebrated February 8. Also known as the lunar new year or spring festival, this year, in accordance with the with the Chinese zodiac, is the Year of the Monkey. Luxury watch brands, as they do each year, create timepieces with specially designed dials. This year these dials depict interpretations of the monkey in ways that are historically and culturally meaningful. Among the timepieces available for sale are the following: 

Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi “Year of the Monkey” (top photo)
This timepiece features a Urushi lacquered dial, hand-crafted in Japan by a master lacquer artist. It depicts a red-coated monkey perched on a branch laden with fruit. It is gathering peaches beneath a golden sky ablaze with the last rays of the sun. Behind it, golden valleys compose a warm scene in soft tones.

Urushi lacquer comes from the sap of the “lacquer” or “Japanese varnish” tree. The transparent lacquer is applied in extremely fine layers that contain gold dust motifs created using the meticulous Maki-e technique. 

To create the dial and case, Chopard worked with the firm Yamada Heiando, official purveyor to the Japanese imperial family. Master Kilchiro Masumura designed and supervised the creation of the dials, executed by Master Minori Koizumi, an Urushi master. 

The 39.5 mm 18k rose gold timepiece is powered by the L.U.C 96.17-L automatic movement. 

Ulysse Nardin Year of the Monkey Classico

The watch brand describes the monkey depicted on the dial as “playful and happy.” It’s designed in a comic strip-like style to capture the lively creature’s character as it appears to leap through a brush of palm fronds. 

The champlevé method of enameling brings the artist’s sketch to life. The technique consists of cells being carved with a chisel directly on the dial and filled with enamel. Its colors are generated from different metallic oxides, and for this piece, a neutral palette is used. It is then fired until the enamel melts. It is mastered in-house at Donzé Cadrans, a member of the Ulysse Nardin group of companies.

The 40 mm 18k rose gold timepiece is powered by the UN-815 automatic movement with a COSC-certified chronometer. It is limited to 88 pieces.

Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art La Légende du Zodiaque Chinois Year of the Monkey

Vacheron Constantin master engravers and enamellers interpreted paper cutting techniques in China and Switzerland in the creation of this limited-edition timepiece. 

The foliage motif on the dial is based on classic Chinese iconography that is etched directly in the metal. The pattern remains semi-embedded and stands out from its gold base by accentuating reliefs, making the vegetation appear to be floating over the dial. 

Next is the Grand Feu enameling, applying the enamel in successive layers to enhance the intensity of the blue or bronze-toned dial before being fired at temperatures between 800 and 900 degrees Celsius. The monkey, made of platinum or gold, is hand engraved and applied to the dial center. 

The 40 mm timepiece is powered by the Caliber 2460 G4 movement. It is limited to 12 pieces in platinum and 12 in pink gold.

Harry Winston Premier Monkey Automatic 36mm

The ladies timepiece has a pink mother-of-pearl dial, enhanced with flecks of 24k gold, each set in individually carved hollows to create a pink and gold constellation. An 18k gold monkey with a diamond for an eye hangs against this luminous, as if grasping the bezel at 9 o’clock, while his tail winds around an emerald-cut diamond at 12 o’clock. Appliqué and marquise-cut openwork create a scene inspired by Jianzhi, an ancient Chinese art form. 

The rose gold timepiece is powered by the HW2008 automatic movement. The bezel, lugs and buckle are set with 74 brilliant-cut diamonds for a total weight of 2.47 carats. It comes with a black satin strap.

It is available in a limited edition of eight pieces. 

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Happy Chinese New Year

It’s the Year of the Horse and I’m ready to celebrate tomorrow by doing nothing, which is the proper way to honor the Lunar New Year according to my wife. No work, no fire for cooking, no knives, etc. I can get used to this.

You can enjoy this gold horse head by Diasqua International Ltd. that’s pictured and a full gallery of Year of the Horse jewelry at the JewelleryNetAsia website, where I write a weekly column.

According to TravelChinaGuide.com, “the spirit of the horse is recognized to be the Chinese people's ethos – making unremitting efforts to improve themselves. It is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able.” 

Those of you born in this festival year share the honor with a diverse group of people including Louisa May Alcott, Chopin, Davy Crockett, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Sandra Day O'Connor, Rembrandt, Teddy Roosevelt, Sir Isaac Newton, Barbara Streisand, Jackie Chan, Jerry Seinfeld, John Travolta, Leonard Bernstein, Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Rembrandt, Kobe Bryant, Genghis Khan, Emperor Kangxi and Yongzheng of China’s Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).

Sadly my rest will only last a day. Saturday it's back to work. I hope you can take break as well.

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Jaquet Droz, Chopard And Vacheron Constantin Celebrate Year of the Horse

Jaquet Droz

January 31 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the longest and most important celebration on the Chinese calendar. This upcoming year is the Year of the Horse. Those born in horse years are said to be cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented and good with their hands. If Jaquet Droz, Chopard and Vacheron Constantin, have their way, those born in horse years and all who celebrate the Chinese lunar calendar will also be attracted to their highly decorative and functional luxury watches made to commemorate this moment in time.

Jaquet Droz
The watch brand has a long association with China and it produces models annually commemorating the Chinese New Year. This year it created three watches in its Ateliers d'Art series that uses three complex techniques: engraving, painting and Grand Feu enamel.

The colorful dial of the Petite Heure Minute 39mm depicts a landscape with two hand-painted Arab thoroughbreds at full gallop on an ivory enamel dial.

A sculptured wild mustang appears on the dial of the Petite Heure Minute 43mm appearing in red gold and engraved in bas-relief on a black dial. The champlevé technique, used for the first time by Jaquet Droz, highlights the movement of the mane and the tail, both filled in with black Grand Feu enamel. On each of these models, a horse's head is also represented on the back of the white gold oscillating weight.

The dial of the Petite Heure Minute 41mm depicts an 18k red gold horse rearing up on its hind legs against a backdrop of the Great Wall of China, engraved and patinated by hand on a mother-of-pearl dial.

All of the watches come in red gold cases and each are available in a limited edition of 88 pieces.

Vacheron Constantin Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

Vacheron Constantin
The venerable luxury watch brand also has a long association with China and produces a series of watches called “The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac” as part of its Métiers d’Art collection.

For the Year of the Horse, Vacheron unveiled two watches crafted in a choice of pink gold or platinum and enhanced by enameling and engraving. For this year’s model, the company took its inspiration in the Chinese art of paper cutting known as Jianzhi. The leaf motif, stemming from classic Chinese iconography is directly engraved in the gold dial. The pattern remains semi-embedded and stands out from its gold base by a subtle stage-setting of variously accentuated reliefs. Raised bamboo stalks appear to be floating over the dial.

The engraved horse appears in pose on the center of the dial. Its mane and coat measures a fraction of a millimeter. Grand Feu enameling is then applied in layers.

Powered by the mechanical self-winding caliber 2460 G4, the dial of the watch provides a hands-free display of time through four windows respectively revealing the hour, the minutes, the day and the date—each appearing through one of the four apertures arranged around the central dial motif.

Each model is limited to 12 pieces and sold exclusively through Vacheron Constantin boutiques.

Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Horse

Chopard
The Japanese art of Urushi is the inspiration of the L.U.C XP 2014 “Year of the Horse” special edition watch. Its hand-painted employs Japanese-inspired traditional artistic techniques. It depicts a noble prancing horse, adorned with lotus flowers—a plant symbolizing personal fulfillment.

Urushi is a long-established lacquering art. The varnish is derived from the sap of the Urushi tree, also called the “lacquer tree” or “Japanese varnish tree”, mainly found in Japan and China. Maki-e, a technique derived from the art of Urushi, consists of sprinkling the lacquered coating with metal powder – in this case gold – in order to accentuate its outlines. The gold dust is applied using bamboo tubes and small natural-hair brushes in order to trace extremely fine lines.

The ultra-thin timepiece measuring 39.5mm in diameter and 6.8mm thick has a mechanical self-winding movement equipped with two barrels ensuring a 65-hour power reserve.

The watch comes in a box decorated in Urushi techniques. Black on the outside and Maki-e gold on the inside, it is shaped like an octagon—the oriental symbol of gaiety, according to the company—and finished with a silk fastening cord.

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