The Best Chinese New Year-Themed Watches of 2026

Beyond the feasting and gambling, Lunar New Year often functions as a subtle annual check-in.

We dress to the nines when visiting our elders—not only because tradition warns that doing otherwise invites bad luck, but because looking put-together reassures them that we’re doing alright.

And just as new outfits make their debut, it’s not uncommon among Chinese communities around the world to mark the occasion with a matching new timepiece. The Year of the Snake in 2025, for instance, was a triumphant one for Bulgari’s Serpenti, while the Chinese zodiac has likewise inspired more unexpected expressions, such as Franck Muller’s 2023 collaboration with streetwear label Fxxking Rabbits.

Back in the early 2000s, only a handful of watch brands bothered to commemorate this important East Asian festival, often with little more than a red dial or a token zodiac motif. Over time, however, the landscape has expanded—not just in volume, but in imagination, craft, and artistic ambition.

So if you’ve been looking for a sign to pick up your next watch, here are a few compelling reasons why. And with Chinese New Year about a month away, we’re expecting even more horse-themed timepieces to debut—so perhaps we’ll publish a part 2?

Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold “Year of the Horse”

To honor the Year of the Horse, Arnold & Son has endeavored to create a lavishly intricate and thoroughly absorbing timepiece. The eye might first be drawn to the moon discs crafted from mother-of-pearl, or the 18k red gold appliqué horse engraving that sits atop black aventurine glass. One gradually notices the surroundings that are hand-painted with real gold, and the hand-painted constellations of Cassiopeia and Ursa Major that decorate the moonphase display. Within its 41.5mm red gold case are more feasts for the eyes—the A&S1512 movement’s plates are rhodium-plated and circular-grained, its bridges are chamfered and finished with radiating Côtes de Genève, its wheels are snailed, screws are blued and chamfered, and the second moonphase display on its caseback is rhodium-plated and rimmed.

Breitling Top Time B01 Shadow Rider

A storied brand currently enjoying soaring global popularity and an emphatic transformation under experienced and deep-pocketed leadership, Breitling just unveiled the 288-piece limited edition Top Time B01 Shadow Rider, which is embellished with the silhouette of the shadow rider’s head on both its small seconds subdial and its caseback. Its tachymeter too bears the inscription “year of the horse”. Created by founder Léon Breitling’s grandson Willy Breitling, the Top Time collection is beloved for its 1960s throwback dials, which are distinguished by their dashboard-style design and “squircle” chronograph counters.

Dior Grand Soir Year of the Horse

It’s impossible to look away from the dial of the new Dior Grand Soir Year of the Horse, where a rose gold horse prances through a garden sculpted from amethysts, spessartites, and yellow and blue sapphires, juxtaposed by an immaculate mother-of-pearl backdrop. The pink gold bezel of this 36mm steel timepiece further accentuates this captivating scene with 52 brilliant-cut diamonds. This objet d’art is limited to just 30 pieces worldwide.

Harry Winston Chinese New Year Automatic

For almost a decade now, Harry Winston has been creating opulent three-dimensional dials themed on each year’s zodiac animal. This Year of the Fire Horse, the beast in question emerges from clouds fashioned from mother-of-pearl. Swathed in a deep red lacquer, and surrounded by hundreds of Harry Winston diamonds, this crimson horse is complemented by a pearl-set crown at 12 o’clock and Harry Winston’s signature emerald-cut diamond at 6 o’clock, and even this watch’s buckle is paved in brilliant-cut diamonds. Limited to a lucky number of eight examples, the 36mm Harry Winston Chinese New Year Automatic is presented in an ornate octagonal box that pays tribute to traditional Chinese architecture.

Hermès: Slim d’Hermès Hippocampe

Equestrian luxury brand Hermès pleasantly surprised its following by debuting a pair of seahorse-themed novelties. An even more wonderous surprise, however, reveals itself upon close inspection of the dial—0.5mm-thin pieces of colorful leather have been individually applied marquetry-style to create these intricate seahorses, which were designed by illustrator Stuart Patience. Each variant is limited to 24 examples, housed within a 39.5mm white gold case, and driven by the automatic Hermès H1950 movement.

IWC Portugieser Automatic 42 Year of the Horse

While staring into the deep burgundy dial of this new Portugieser, we can’t help but reminisce the vividly colored Portugiesers worn by celebrities like Chris Evans and Lewis Hamilton. As with previous Portugieser editions, this novelty packs seven days of power reserve. The 18k gold rotor that winds its 52011 movement, however, has been engraved into a galloping horse. Its numerals and indices too have been finished in gold.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Horse

Jaeger-LeCoultre took this opportunity to exhibit the unassailable engraving and enameling skills of its in-house artisans. On the flipside of a time-only dial, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Horse presents a vivacious, painstakingly engraved stallion bursting forth from gold clouds, and contrasted by a black Grand Feu enamel background. This 10-piece limited edition is powered by the maison’s caliber 822 with 42-hour power reserve, protected within a 45.6 x 27.4mm pink gold case.

Longines Master Collection Year of the Horse

One of Switzerland’s oldest watch manufactures, Longines enjoys immense popularity among ethnic Chinese around the world. Known for timing some of the most important equestrian competitions in history, Longines was one of the first to debut its Year of the Horse-themed watch: a 42mm stainless steel complication that is limited to 2,026 examples. Its gradient fumé dial is an auspicious shade of red, and its gilt rotor is engraved with a horse motif painted by renowned Chinese artist Peon Xu. Its caliber L899 with silicon balance spring was the same movement that powered 2024’s Dragon-themed Longines Master. The moonphase and date are discreetly presented on an uncluttered, quietly elegant dial, making this new release difficult to resist—especially at an asking price of just USD 3,400.

Oris Year of the Horse Limited Edition

Gradient subdials glow like fiery eyes on the dark red dial of the Oris Year of the Horse Limited Edition, which is complemented by a brown cordovan leather strap. Within its 43mm stainless steel case beats Oris’s classic Calibre 113, an innovative movement that indicates many facets of time while avoiding clutter—hours, minutes and week of the year are indicated by central hands, the small seconds counter is located at 9 o’clock, while date and day are displayed through apertures at 9 and 12 o’clock respectively. Oris’s trademark non-linear power reserve subdial at 3 o’clock has been given a cheeky detail—the horse is charging when the watch is fully wound, and it is laying down when power is depleted.

Sarcar Magic Moon Series Fire Horse

Sarcar was founded in Geneva in 1948 by skilled artisan Carlo Sarzano, who desired to build a brand that is “large enough to be strong, yet small enough to be free”. Today, Sarzano’s vision is carried on by adept craftsmen who apply their unmatched flair with gemstone art to creating moving (in both a physical and metaphorical sense) objets d’art like The North Star and Le Solitaire, as well as bespoke one-of-a-kind masterpieces for a select clientele. Sarcar’s tribute to the Year of the Horse is the Magic Moon Series Fire Horse—a 38mm white gold conversation starter that is paved with 179 brilliant-cut diamonds and 357 sapphires.

TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Year of the Horse

Recently, TAG Heuer’s Carrera Chronograph has been an exciting canvas for experimental design, from a carbon-fiber version released at Geneva Watch Days 2025, to a pitch-dark rendition created by Fragment’s Hiroshi Fujiwara, unveiled last month. The recently announced 39mm TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Year of the Horse has been endowed with a subtly elegant red-and-champagne dial under Jack Heuer’s famed glassbox-style domed sapphire. On its caseback, a sapphire etched with a lively charger lets us peek at this 250-piece limited edition’s TH20-07 movement. On the 7th day of the month, however, the date window reveals a ‘马’ instead, which is the Chinese character for horse.

Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art The Legend of The Chinese Zodiac–Year of The Horse

Every year, watch fans wait with bated breath for Vacheron Constantin to unveil a new timepiece themed on the impending zodiac year. Swapping out pointers in favor of four apertures that display the hours, minutes, date and day (in that order, clockwise from top left), this iconic yearly release is Vacheron Constantin’s opportunity to showcase the immense depth of its enameling and engraving capabilities. This year’s charging horse arrives on a 40mm dial in pink gold or platinum, each limited to 25 examples.