The Year of the Horse Gallops in on the Wrist
Watchmakers mark Lunar New Year with symbolic designs and highly collectible timepieces.
The season of red envelopes changing hands is upon us: Lunar New Year. And while tradition calls for paper envelopes symbolizing good fortune, watchmakers are offering something more enduring: Year of the Horse timepieces. In celebration of Year of the Horse, these limited-edition timepieces are designed to be worn, collected, and passed on.
IWC Portugieser Automatic 42 Year of the Horse
IWC marks Lunar New Year with a technically refined and symbolically rich limited edition: the Portugieser Automatic 42 Year of the Horse. Limited to just 500 pieces, this 42.4-millimetre wristwatch balances classic Portugieser proportions with festive flair. A burgundy dial, inspired by the auspicious red tones widely used in Lunar New Year celebrations, features golden hands, Roman numerals, the characteristic Portugieser subdials, and a seven-day power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock. IWC’s in-house calibre 52011 powers the watch. The real horological flourish is visible through the sapphire case back: a gold-plated rotor shaped like a galloping horse that makes for mechanical excellence paired with cultural storytelling.
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Piaget Altiplano Zodiac Horse Edition
For the Year of the Horse, Piaget elevates its Altiplano into a rarefied realm of artistry and ultrathin horology. Limited to just 18 pieces, this Altiplano Zodiac Horse Edition is a marvel of watchmaking. The 41-millimetre 18-karat white gold case is ringed with baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel, brilliant-cut stones along the lugs, and a rose-cut diamond on the crown. The dial is a master class in paillonné and cloisonné enamel work in shades of blue, grey, and white. Inside, Piaget’s ultrathin calibre 830P—just 2.5 millimetres—keeps the silhouette elegant while ensuring mechanical excellence. This Altiplano isn’t merely a zodiac tribute, it’s haute horlogerie of craft.
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Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold Year of the Horse
The Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold Year of the Horse is a limited edition of just eight timepieces and blends high watchmaking with métiers d’art. Housed in a 41.5-millimetre red gold case, the dial unfolds as a nocturnal tableau: a hand-engraved rearing horse in 18-karat red gold is set against a star-specked black aventurine sky with a radiant mother-of-pearl moon. The manufacture A&S1512 movement offers exceptional lunar accuracy, requiring correction only once every 122 years, quite a flex of horological mastery. This timepiece is less about marking hours than about contemplating cycles: of time, of nature, and of myth.
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Dior Grand Soir Year of the Horse
Dior has long walked the line between couture and fine art, a sensibility it brings to its world of watchmaking. With the Grand Soir Year of the Horse, the maison transforms Lunar New Year into visual poetry. The Grand Soir, first released in 2010, has been a canvas for gem-set dials, handcrafted motifs, and sartorial creativity drawing on the maison’s heritage in fashion and haute jewellery. For the Year of the Horse, this 36-millimetre timepiece is a wearable work of art. A spirited horse rears across a mother-of-pearl dial dusted with diamonds, blue sapphires, yellow sapphires, amethysts, and fiery spessartite garnets. This is a limited edition of only 30 timepieces.
