Many in the West and beyond welcomed in their New Year on 1 January, all no doubt happy to bid adieu to the travails of 2020 and welcome the next 12 months with the hope of better things to come. For many others – in fact, for about a fifth of the global population – the real celebrations, of course, begin on Friday, 12 February this year, the first day of Chinese New Year.
Hoping to take full advantage of the upcoming festivities, several of the world’s leading haute horology houses have turned their eye to creating special 2021 timepieces as they look to usher in the Year of the Ox. Among the many models jostling for attention, seven merit particular mention.
First up is one of the newest addition to Swiss watch manufacture Vacheron Constantin’s Metiers d’Art collection – The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Ox. Inspired by jian zhi, a Chinese paper-cutting technique, its beautiful blue fascia features cut-out apertures for its day, date, hour and minute indicators. Available with either a blue or bronze-toned dial, taking pride of place in the centre of both variants is a lovingly engraved rendering of this mightiest of zodiac animals.
Eschewing the Gregorian calendar in favour of the Chinese version, meanwhile, is Blancpain’s aptly named Traditional Chinese Calendar. Its Arabic numeral date indicators and Roman numeral hour markers notwithstanding, this timepiece truly embraces the Chinese lunisolar calendar with its showcase of an array of traditional facets, including the zodiac signs, the five elements and the ten heavenly stems. The product of five long years of research and development, the 45mm watch is available in red gold as well as a 50-piece limited-edition platinum avatar.
Inserting some sparkle to proceedings, meanwhile, is renowned jeweller Harry Winston’s Premier Chinese New Year Ox Automatic 36mm. Designed with diamond-loving ladies very much in mind, this dazzling creation forefronts a vivid red mother-of-pearl dial, ably accentuated by a diamond-studded ox. As if that weren’t enough, the bezel of its rose gold case has also been given a diamond upgrade, with stunning red leather straps completing its festive appeal.
Boasting a similar diamond-studded bezel design is the Altiplano Year of the Ox, which is available from Swiss luxury maison Piaget, complete with a magnificently muscular ox fronting its gleaming white dial. This rugged zodiac symbol has been painstakingly rendered in Grand Feu cloisonne enamelling by master enameller Anita Porchet using a process that sees the dial fired at high temperatures repeatedly in order to ensure the image is perfectly captured, before being varnished to ensure longevity. Housed in a super-slim case – one the brand’s signature flourishes – the whole ensemble is powered by a cutting-edge 430P hand-wound movement.
Another bovine-inspired wristwatch comes courtesy of the French-founded luxury label Breguet, with its new Breguet Classique 7145 “Year of the Ox” featuring two buffalo bulls on an exquisite handcrafted dial. In order to capture the true vivacity of these magnificent beasts, the gold coating of each rendering has been electroplated multiple times, creating four contrasting shades. The hooves and horns, meanwhile, have been crafted in white gold, with the beauty of the piece standing as apt testament to the skill of Breguet’s craftsmen.
Building on the golden ox motif – albeit with a distinctly outré approach – is Chopard’s L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Ox. Here, the dial has been painstakingly fashioned using Urushi, a traditional Japanese lacquerware technique that uses continuously applied layers of lacquer and gold powder to great effect. The resultant fascia features a lushly coated ox pulling a wagon across the land. Coming with a 65-hour power reserve as standard, only 88 of these simply stunning timepieces will ever be made available.
An even more exclusive creation – with just eight available in red gold and a further eight in white gold – is the Petite Heure Minute Buffalo, the latest work from renowned watchmaker Jaquet Droz. Featuring an onyx dial, it also boasts an enchanting top-mounted relief-engraved buffalo strolling along a plum tree on a raised tableau, all delivered through the wonder of hand-engraved gold appliqué work. Both variants measure 41mm in diameter, with the white gold style further accentuated with a gem-set bezel and lugs. From the symbolism of the imagery and the emblematic ox to the use of gold throughout, this stunning timepiece stands is the perfect tribute to the Year of the Metal Ox.