Vacheron Constantin’s platinum limited-edition Metiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese zodiac: Year of the Pig timepiece, which shows the date and time without moving hands.
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https://scmp.com/magazines/style/watches/article/2183875/7-year-pig-luxury-watches-you-would-want-flaunt-lunar-new Watches
7 Year of the Pig luxury watches you would want to flaunt this Lunar New Year
Designs of Vacheron Constantin, Panerai, Piaget, Jaquet Droz, Chopard and Breguet, some with diamond-encrusted bezels, depict the 12th Chinese zodiac animal
Jaquet Droz' Year of the Pig watches.
The pig’s position as the 12th and last animal of the Chinese zodiac – according to fable – reflects its lazy persona.
Legend has it that the pig got hungry on its way to join the other animals in a race to be inducted into the zodiac, and took a nap after stopping to satiate its gluttonous desires.
While keeping track of time was not that particular pig’s strong suit, the same cannot be said for these luxury swine-inspired timepieces.
Leading watchmakers have put their imaginations to work, conjuring up playful, jolly and cheerful depictions of pigs for their creations.
Some of the pieces feature complicated mechanical details, while others sparkle from the light reflecting off diamonds.
Check out the Lunar New Year timepieces dedicated to the approaching Year of the Pig, with a number of them included in the watchmaker’s limited-edition collections.
Vacheron Constantin, the Swiss luxury watchmaker, presents two references of its Year of the Pig watch – each one inspired by ancient Chinese art of “jianzhi”, or paper-cutting.
The jianzhi technique share similarities with Scherenschnitt paper-cutting, which is deeply rooted in Swiss culture.
The results are mirrored in these two timepieces with engraving and enamelling.
The Metiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese zodiac: Year of the Pig watch has no hands; instead the watchmaker opted to display the time and date through four apertures on the “corners” of the timepiece – freeing up space on the dial for the artisans to realise their vision – a piggy engraved in gold and platinum against an enamelled background.
The rose-gold version of Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art The legend of the Chinese zodiac: Year of the Pig watch, which is limited to only 12 pieces.
The platinum rendition is paired with a blue dial and colour-matching alligator strap, while the pink-gold version sports a bronze-coloured dial and a brown strap.
Each piece is offered in a limited edition of 12 pieces.
Panerai’s adorable-looking piglet is engraved on the cover of its Luminor Sealand’s Year of the Pig timepiece.
The 11th piece in the watchmaker’s zodiac series, the design marries traditions from Chinese and Italian cultures; a pig, along with the Chinese character for “pig”, are engraved on the cover of the watch using the ancient Italian technique of sparsello, with gold thread inlaid into engraved grooves of the steel lid.
Like the 10 zodiac pieces that came before it, only 88 pieces of the hand-engraved Year of Pig watch will be made.
Piaget has added to its collection of Chinese zodiac watches, which first appeared in 2012, with its Year of the Pig Altiplano timepiece.
It enlisted the talents of long-time collaborator and enamel artist Anita Porchet, who created a scene featuring a good-natured-looking piglet.
The illustration of the animal, with its cheerful grin, creates a happy, uplifting Lunar New Year vibe.
To top it off, this little piggy is surrounded by 80 brilliant-cut diamonds around the bezel, which add a glow to the intricate enamelled portrait.
The hand-painted dial of Jaquet Droz's Petite Heure Minute Pig watch.
Jaquet Droz offers two different designs for its Year of Pig-themed timepieces – opting to decorate one version of the watch using one of its signature crafts – a miniature painting of a piglet – while the other features an engraving of wild boar.
A miniature painting of a happy piglet taking a stroll through a field of wheat can be seen on two different versions of the Swiss luxury watchmaker’s Petite Heure Minute watch.
One reference features diamonds around a 35mm bezel, while the other timepiece, in rose gold, measures 39mm. Both versions are limited to only 28 pieces.
The Petite Heure Minute timepiece’s signature off-centred dial also leaves plenty of space for the brand’s skilled engravers to create a scene of a wild pig in front of eight oak trees for the timepiece’s other design.
The number eight signifies good luck, and also has an important link to the house of Jaquet Droz; the design of its Grande Seconde dial was inspired by the Roman numeral 8.
Two different versions of the brand’s Petite Heure Minute Relief Pig watch are available – featuring engraved scenes of pigs in pink or white gold, set against black onyx dials.
The pink-gold version is limited to 28 pieces, while only eight pieces of the white-gold watch, accented with a bezel of diamonds, are being made.
Chopard has previously created a number of timepieces using the technique of urushi – a form of natural lacquer used traditionally in Japanese art.
The Swiss maison uses this same technique to recreate a colourful forest setting and an adorable, big-bellied golden pig for its L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Pig watch.
Chopard’s L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Pig watch features a design created using traditional Japanese urushi lacquer.
The ultra-thin rose-gold case houses an in-house L.U.C movement, which powers the hour and minute hands.
This little piggy in its most natural habitat comes in a limited edition of 88 pieces.
Breguet houses its pig in a white gold Classique case, measuring 40.6 mm. The 'Année du Cochon' watch taps into the watchmaker’s enamelling knowhow; the dial decorated with a portrait of a pig is accented with blue enamel details. A self-winding movement with a 45-hour power reserve brings life to this pig-themed watch. A black alligator strap completes this timepiece.