Three Year of the Pig watches from Chopard, Jaquet Droz, Vacheron Constantin

Lunar New Year is almost here! Huzzah! Who doesn’t love painfully packed airports and train stations, getting rinsed on the lai see and the awkward small talk with family members you barely know/dislike intensely? No? No one? Oh.

Anyhow, getting on with business, Lunar New Year-themed watches, or, more accurately, Chinese zodiac watches, have become lucrative for luxury brands, even though Christmas/Easter/Eid/Hanukkah watches haven’t really taken off. Ever.

The main reason zodiac watches have become popular is that they give watchmakers an opportunity to show off their artisanal skills and, much like Pokémon, collectors have to catch them all. Yep, the 12 signs of the zodiac mean that these watches are highly collectable.

This year there’s a panoply of porcine pieces from the likes of Panerai and Piaget but we’re going to start with the best of the best – Chopard’s L.U.C. XP Urushi “Year of the Pig”. A gorgeous expression of the watchmaker’s craft, this piece uses the ancient Japanese art of lacquering known as urushi for the plucky little pig on the dial.

Everything about this watch is meticu­lous, from the hand-engraving to the hand-applied lacquer, and the whole process has been overseen by Japan’s top exponent of urushi, Master Kiichiro Masumura. Features are simple, just hours and minutes. On the technical side, the 39.5mm gold case houses a Calibre 96.17-L movement that has 65 hours of power reserve and the strap is black alligator leather. Limited to a lucky 88 pieces, this watch is priced at HK$187,000.