Welcoming the benevolent heavenly creature to 2024
According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, this year is the year of the competent and prosperous Wooden Dragon, the only mythical creature on the Chinese zodiac and the fifth animal of the 12. It represents the imperious power, benevolence, wealth and the bearer of good fortune. It is also the most majestic creature of the Central Plain or Middle Kingdom and is also a heavenly creature. The dragon is not just exclusive to those who are born under the zodiac sign in its mythical creature form and is also cherished by everyone as a talisman for everyone,
Watch manufacturers are getting set to wow the fans of the heavenly creature with their latest rendition of the Chinese Dragon, displaying their artisanal skills and flare in creating some of the most beautifully decorated and executed watches of the new year.
Let’s examine each of the watches with great detail to see what makes them great in their way as they set out to express their version of the benevolent mythical creature that has been beholden by the dwellers of the Central Plain since circa 6000 BCE.
Arnold & Son
One of the oldest names in watchmaking, dating back to 1765, has given us the beautifully hand-crafted Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold “Year of the Dragon”. The imperious dragon hand engraved in gold seems to dance across the black aventurine sky sparkled with gold dust with SuperLuminova overlay as it floats above the hand-painted pine trees. The moon on the moon phase dial (one of the largest) is made from mother-of-pearl with hand-painted details with SuperLuminova overlay. The watch is powered by a hand-wound mechanical movement Calibre A&S 1512 with astronomical moon phases with a second moon phase indicator in the back and harnesses 90 hours of power reserve. They are housed in a 41.5mm red gold case.
Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Dragon
Chopard
This year Chopard presents us their version of the dragon the L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Dragon to celebrate the auspicious first day of the Chinese Spring Festival. The majestic dragon on the dial is hand-crafted in Japan by an artisan using the Maki-e technique in decorating the dial with Urushi lacquer it brings the heavenly creature to life as it is rendered writhing across the night blue sky speckled with gold stars over the sea of golden waves. The watch is powered by an automatic movement Calibre L.U.C 96. 17-L with a micro-rotor with 65 hours of power reserve. They are housed in a 39.5mm ethical rose gold case.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso has been chosen to host the Year of the Dragon, the Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Dragon”. The grand maison may have taken a simple approach to the rendition of the regal heavenly creature, but it is no less elegant. The rendition of the art deco dragon is hand engraved on a pink gold based coated with black grand feu enamel on the back of the Reverso swivel case. On the dial side, the hours and minutes hands with the indices are in pink gold on a black grand feu enamel dial. The ultra-thin movement that churned the time with precision is a hand-wound Calibre 822 and the watch is held in place by a 45.5mm pink gold bracket decorated with sunray engraved stripes.
