Chinese New Year 2024 will begin on February 10, marking the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. Of all the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is the only mythical creature; in Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes good luck, strength, and health. Several Swiss watchmakers have long produced Lunar New Year watches for their clients, creating motifs around tigers, horses, dogs, oxen, pigs, goats, roosters, and all the other zodiac animals. But this year, many more brands are offering special dragon watches — probably because the dragon is just so undeniably cool. Here are 12 Year of the Dragon watches that celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year.
IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Chronograph Year of the Dragon Watch
For its offering, IWC unveiled the limited-edition Portugieser Chronograph Year of the Dragon ref. IW371629 with a 41mm steel case, black leather strap, and a burgundy dial punctuated with gold-plated hands and hour markers.
The dragon theme is showcased on the back of the watch, in the form of the gold rotor that serves to wind up the Caliber 69355 movement. The watch is limited to only 1,000 pieces and its retail price is $9,350.
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TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Year of the Dragon Watch
To celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year, TAG Heuer released two limited edition Carrera chronographs —one in steel limited to 300 pieces, and one in rose gold limited to 50 pieces. Both versions include plenty of red accents (a lucky color in Chinese culture) including the duo of registers on the dial, the alligator strap, and lacquered accents on the hour markers.
The dial is also home to a calligraphic dragon character at 6 o’clock while the caseback is decorated with a printed Chinese Dragon figure framing the Caliber Heuer 02 automatic movement. The steel TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Year of the Dragon (ref. CBN201H.FC6553) is priced at $6,300 while the rose gold version (CBN2048.FC8323) is priced at $22,550.
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Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Titanium Dragon Watch
Known for its wild watches, Hublot gives us a super vibrant dragon watch to mark the occasion. Say hello to the Spirit of Big Bang Titanium Dragon watch, inspired by the traditional Chinese art of paper cutting and designed in collaboration with artist Chen Fenwan. The dial inside the 42mm titanium case features the silhouette of a dragon created in paper cut-outs and composed of movement components such as cogs, screws, and wheels, as well as the watch’s hands.
The rubber strap features a rubber marquetry motif (a first for Hublot) where each of the dragon’s scales is colored and nano-vulcanized to be integrated into the strap, all done by hand. The Titanium Dragon watch (ref. 646.NX.6600.RX.CHF24), is powered by the Caliber HUB1710 movement, limited to 88 pieces, and priced at $29,500.
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Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of Dragon Watch
No stranger to making Chinese zodiac watches, Vacheron Constantin introduced two Year of the Dragon watches to join its Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Collection. The first is fashioned from platinum and includes a blue dial and strap while the other is crafted from pink gold and features a brown dial and strap, each limited to 25 pieces and both illustrating the engraving and enameling capabilities of the watchmaker.
Vacheron’s pair of watches include 40mm cases and their dials are decorated with a relief of an engraved dragon with around 300 scales. The dragons sit on Grand Feu enamel dials, punctuated with four windows to indicate the trailing hours, trailing minutes, jumping day, and jumping date, all powered by Caliber 246 G4. The pink gold Vacheron Constantin Year of the Dragon (ref.86073/000R-B983) is priced at $112,000 whereas the price of the platinum variant (ref. 86073/000P-B982) is $136,000.
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Dragon Watch
The blank side of the famous swivel-case Reverso watch is a prime spot for decorations and engravings, which is exactly what Jaeger-LeCoultre used to feature the mythical Chinese creature on the Reverso Tribute Enamel “Dragon” watch. An intricately detailed dragon surrounded by clouds is engraved into the pink gold rectangular case (45.5mm x 27.4mm x 9.73mm), highlighted by its black glossy Grand Feu enamel background.
The dial side of the case is also decorated with black Grand Feu enamel, home to just a pair of pink hands at the center pointing to pink applied hour markers and powered by the manually wound Caliber 822 movement. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Dragon (ref. Q39324D1) is made-to-order and priced at $107,000.
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Bell & Ross BR 05 Artline Dragon Watch
Bell & Ross takes laser engraving to a whole new level with its BR 05 Artline Dragon watch, designed to look like it’s been tattooed throughout the case, dial, and bracelet. The dragon design takes center stage on the dial but Bell & Ross included other motifs too such as the sun, moon, flora, and fauna.
The 40mm rounded square-shaped case is made of stainless steel, as is the integrated bracelet, and the watch runs on the in-house Caliber BR-CAL.321 automatic movement. The Bell & Ross BR 05 Artline Dragon (ref. BR05A-DR-ST/SST) is limited to 99 pieces and is priced at $7,900.
Arnold & Son Luna Magna Red Gold Year of the Dragon Watch
Two versions of the Luna Magna Red Gold Year of the Dragon join the Arnold & Son lineup, one with an onyx dial and the other with a pietersite dial—each limited to 8 pieces. The watches feature 44mm red gold cases and dramatic dials with the hour and minute display subdial at the top and a 3D moonphase indicator just below with moons made from red gold and either onyx or pietersite.
A large hand-engraved red gold sculptural dragon is positioned on the dial, coiling around the indicators and facing the moon directly, so close that you can see the creature’s image reflection on the smooth surface. Powered by the in-house Caliber A&S1021 manually-wound movement, the Arnold & Son Luna Magna Red Gold Year of the Dragon watches (ref. 1LMAR.Z03A.C262R for pietersite and ref. 1LMAR.Z02A.C266R for onyx) are priced at CHF 79,600 (approximately $93,500).
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Piaget Polo Emperador Dragon Tourbillon Watch
For Chinese New Year, Piaget unleashed a large collection of dragon watches including this striking Piaget Polo Emperador Dragon Tourbillon watch. The Polo Emperador line is home to the complicated and high-jewelry versions of Piaget’s sporty Polo collection.
The Polo Emperador Dragon Tourbillon watch (ref. GOA48542) includes a 46.5mm rose gold case, embellished with snow-set diamonds, blue sapphires, and an engraved dragon motif. The watch is powered by the ultra-thin self-winding Caliber 12670P with the hours and minutes displayed at 5 o’clock and the flying tourbillon at 1 o’clock. Interestingly, the off-centered micro-rotor is also on the dial, taking up its place at 9 o’clock. The piece is limited to eight pieces worldwide and the retail price has not been published yet.
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Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Dragon Watch
Chopard has dutifully created Chinese zodiac watches for years now, often using the L.U.C XP model as its canvas. The most recent version is the Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Dragon with an ultra-thin 39.50mm rose gold case that’s just 6.8mm thick. The Urushi lacquer dial that features a dragon at the center was handcrafted in Japan by Minori Koizumi, a craftsman specializing in Maki-e technique (the Japanese lacquer decoration technique that uses sprinkled metal powder on lacquerware).
The exhibition caseback of the watch shows off the ultra-thin Caliber L.U.C 96.17-L automatic movement inside, complete with a 22k gold micro-rotor. The Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Dragon (ref. 161902-5079) is limited to 88 pieces and is priced at CHF 26,600 (approximately $31,300).
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Harry Winston Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm Watch
Since 2015, Harry Winston has been creating Lunar New Year watches dedicated to the animal from the Chinese zodiac. This year’s rendition is the Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm (ref. MMTAHM36RR001) with a rose gold case set with two rows of diamonds and topped with a pearl-set winding crown at 12 o’clock.
As expected, the star of the dial is the dragon rendered in red lacquer and floating among white mother-of-pearl clouds. This high-jewelry Harry Winston watch is limited to eight pieces and its price has yet to be published.
Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon
The Blast Tourbillon has been one of Ulysse Nardin’s hero models since its debut in 2020, characterized by its angular style, high-tech movement, and distinctive “X” structure. So it comes as no surprise that Ulysse Nardin would select this model to create a special Chinese New Year watch.
The Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon (ref. 1725-400-2A/1A) includes a 45mm rose gold case with a black DLC titanium middle case and bezel. The skeletonized dial not only has a pearl-set tourbillon at 6 o’clock but also a miniaturized rose gold dragon that’s hand engraved and micro-painted. No word yet on if this is limited but its hefty price tag of $100,600 certainly makes this watch accessible to a smaller crowd.
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Bovet 1882 Récital 26 Chapter Two Golden Dragon
Bovet pulled out all the stops when creating its Year of the Dragon watch — meet the Bovet 1882 Récital 26 Chapter Two Golden Dragon, a watch that boasts a world timer, moonphase, double-sided flying tourbillon, and a hand-carved red gold dragon sculpture that required between 40 and 50 hours to complete.
Housing the mechanics and decor of the extravagant timepiece is a 46.5mm red gold case, fitted with a blue alligator leather strap to match the blue accents on the dial. The back of the watch showcases the hand-wound 17DM06-DT movement, which in true Bovet fashion is ornately decorated. Bovet’s production is limited by nature and the company has announced that it will only be able to make around one or two of these pieces a month. The price of the Bovet 1882 Récital 26 Chapter Two Golden Dragon is “on request” but expect it to be exceedingly expensive.
Dragon watches are now so popular that this is far from an exhaustive list, but we hope this give you a picture of some of the best dragon-themed luxury watches that 2024 has to offer.