We usher in the Year of the Tiger with special edition timepieces to celebrate a new influx of vigour and confidence.
The tiger in the Chinese zodiac is the animal embodiment of self-confidence and fearless leadership, and makes for some pretty spectacular interpretations in terms of watch design. We introduce four new limited edition luxury timepieces that pay tribute to the majestic king of the jungle, and the arrival of its lunar new year on 1 February 2022.
Harry Winston
American luxury jeweller and watchmaker presents the very auspicious-looking Premier Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm, which depicts two tiger cubs at play, crafted in 18-karat rose gold and red-beaded mother-of-pearl, encircled in a dial of 65 brilliant-cut diamonds. The adorable cubs are frolicking among three rose gold rosettes – the leitmotif of the Winston Gates fine jewellery collection, and the first time it has ever appeared on a Harry Winston timepiece. The vibrant peonies on the cubs are a nod to Mr Abaji Shinde, Harry Winston’s legendary head of design for 40 years, and gifted Indian painter and jewellery designer renowned for his opulent creations for Indian royals and Maharajas. On the reverse side, a sapphire crystal reveals the superior Swiss-made mechanical automatic HW2014 movement.
Blancpain
When Blancpain first started developing the complication for the Traditional Chinese Calendar in 2007, the Swiss luxury watchmaker was truly breaking new ground with no technical precedence. It took five years of research and development to complete the complication, which would display all the main indications of the Chinese calendar: traditional double-hours, day, month with indication of leap months, signs of the zodiac, as well as the five elements and the ten celestial stems. To usher in the Year of the Tiger in 2022, Blancpain unveils a new 50-piece limited edition version crafted in platinum with a white grand feu enamel dial, and a majestic tiger highlighted on the back of the timepiece. This hyper-complex timepiece, which combines both Gregorian and Chinese calendar elements, is driven by the self-winding 3638 movement, whose complexity stems as much from the number of the indications to be displayed, as from the irregular nature of their cycles.
Vacheron Constantin
In celebration of the new lunar year, Vacheron Constantin marries the traditional decorative art of paper-cutting in both Swiss and Chinese cultures – Jianzhi and Scherenschnitt – for two new timepieces. This artistic approach, highlighted in the Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac, has been given a fresh interpretation thanks to the expertise of the master engravers and enamellers. Available in both blue and bronze versions in twelve models each, this opulent timepiece features a hand-engraved tiger in either platinum or pink gold stalking through a background of exquisitely etched motifs echoing deep vegetation and Chinese iconography. Vacheron Constantin’s Calibre 2460 G4 movement provides a remarkable hands-free display to showcase the design, instead featuring four apertures showing the hours, minutes, days and dates.
Piaget
Piaget’s splendid tiger in cloisonné grand feu enamel is a work of art, a blaze of sinuous gold outlines against a snowy white dial of white gold and 78 brilliant-cut diamonds. Meticulously crafted by master-enameller Anita Porchet, the ultra-thin Altiplano timepiece is a fine example of the Swiss maison’s long expertise in gem-setting, and artistic craftsmanship excellence. Accompanying this Altiplano timepiece, Piaget is presenting a Possession contrast ring and Possession contrast open bangle in 18k white gold, with playful turning bands set with diamonds and black ceramic, and dressed with fiery red carnelians. This auspicious colour is echoed by the launch of a new Possession timepiece in 18K rose gold with a mother-of-pearl dial, ruby indexes, and an iconic turning external ring set with brilliant-cut diamonds and one half-moon set ruby.
Images courtesy of respective brands, artwork by Curatedition. All rights reserved.
Related Links:
Vacheron Constantin: Haute Horlogerie Pops into the New Year
Harry Winston: Time for L.O.V.E.
Blancpain: A Tribute to the Fifty Fathoms No Rad
Piaget Polo Date 36mm: Fabulously Refined
