CHF 180, Swatch
Famed for its innumerable collections, Swatch wasn’t going to miss out on Chinese New Year celebrations. One of its most sophisticated models, the Skin Irony abandons plastic for a steel case, worn on a textile and leather strap. The dial showcases not the serpent itself but one of its favourite habitats, bamboo. Not to be overlooked is the more than reasonable price.
CHF 8,600, IWC
At first glance, nothing about this limited-edition Portofino suggests Chinese New Year, yet tear yourself away from the beautiful burgundy dial, complemented by the gold-coloured moon-phase display at noon, and all is revealed. A sapphire case back shows off the in-house 32800 calibre whose gold oscillating weight recreates the snake’s tantalising coils.
CHF 27,600, Chopard
The snake that adorns the dial of this L.U.C watch is the work of a talented artist, brought to life by a specialist in the ancestral Japanese art of Urushi, in which different coloured lacquers are blended with gold or silver flakes. The result is a wonderfully poetic depiction of this year’s zodiac animal, rendered in exquisite detail.
CHF 68,500, Harry Winston
For this bejewelled interpretation of the Chinese New Year, Harry Winston has lavished the bezel with not one but two rows of diamonds. In addition to the Winston-cut diamond at noon, the dial calls on multiple métiers d’art: enamel for the snake and the lush foliage, gem-setting for the flowers and mother-of-pearl for the verdant backdrop – the perfect setting for a snake.
CHF 81,000, Blancpain
This eminently complex watch is a true collector’s item, limited to just 50 pieces. Any affiliation with the Year of the Snake isn’t immediately obvious, other than the Chinese characters for the calendar indications on the dial side. Here, too, all is revealed by turning the watch over. Displayed through a sapphire back, the in-house movement is wound by an oscillating weight, engraved with a snake that holds us in its gaze.
CHF 100,000, Jaeger-LeCoultre
What more elegant setting for a celebration of the Chinese New Year than the legendary Reverso and its swivel case. For the front dial, the simplicity of central hour and minute hands on an enamel background. On the reverse side, which is also enamelled, a superb sculpted gold snake in all its splendour. And for the wearer of the watch, the pleasure of switching between styles.
CHF 166,000, Vacheron Constantin
Each year, Vacheron Constantin commemorates Chinese New Year with the release of a new watch in its Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac collection. The year’s zodiac animal takes pride of place on a dial devoid of hands. Instead, hours, minutes, day and date are shown in four peripheral apertures. Art for the wrist, produced as a limited edition.
CHF 250,000, Corum
It is every collector’s dream to own a watch that is the only one of its kind, such as this unique piece by Corum. Framed by the Golden Bridge’s tonneau-shaped case, a finely sculpted gold snake coils around the linear baguette movement. Hand-painted highlights accentuate certain of its scales. This serpent is very much in its element, surrounded by a luxuriant jungle of hand-sculpted and enamelled leaves and vines in tonalities of green.
