2024 Luxury Watch Report | In Prosperity, the Azure Dragon Soars
published in enya Fashion Queen issue #206, cover photo © 2024 Chopard, all rights reserved
Through the hands of various watchmaking brands, the dragon’s nobility, luxury and grace comes to life on the wrist. In the Year of the Wood Dragon, which only happens once every 60 years, the azure dragon will be guarding the treasury, in the same way the esteemed creature sitting on the wrist will bring soaring prosperity and fortune to this upcoming year.
Across the Four Seas
In the brand new Ronde Louis Cartier high jewelry watch, Cartier grounds the image of a dragon flying across the four seas in reality through exquisite craftsmanship. An Asia-exclusive, the timepiece features a dragon carved in gold leaping through the enameled waves, while its facial expression appears to be detailed, agile, noble and elegant. The creature’s eyes, crafted with enamel, add a touch of ethereal refinement against a subtle lake-blue backdrop. While the mother-of-pearl captures the layers of clouds on the dial, the colorful enamel depicts the changing blues and surging waves of the ocean. Pearls on the dial, aside from the one nestled in the dragon’s claw, are also set amidst the blue sea and white clouds like romantic foams of water bubbles. Involving 25 repeated firings, the enameling process to create this timepiece showcases the skillful mastery and strive for perfection of the watchmaking artisans.
The Art of Urushi
When the sap of the lacquer tree dances across the dial with inlays of gold powder, the Chopard L.U.C XP Urushi Year of the Dragon is thus created. The masterpiece portrays auspicious red clouds with lacquer, a dragon claw holding a pearl through mother-of-pearl and scattered gold flakes resembling stars in the night sky. Limited to 88 pieces worldwide, the latest L.U.C XP Urushi features a gold dragon of fortune soaring on the dial, which originates from the century-old Japanese workshop Yamada Heiando and is handcrafted by master artisan Minori Koizumi. The transparent sapphire crystal case back offers a different view of the calibre - an in-house automatic movement wounded by a 22-kt gold micro-rotor, finely finished with Côtes de Genève on the bridge. This timepiece marks Chopard’s 12th Urushi piece and completes the zodiac series. To celebrate this achievement, the Swiss manufacturer will be launching an exquisite wooden box watch set in 2024. The set will include all 12 L.U.C XP Urushi time-tellers, offering collectors the opportunity to own a complete collection of the zodiac-inspired watch series.
Fiery Elegance
With a visual focal point on a meticulously colored dragon’s eye, the Bubble 47 Dragon Eye is a limited edition watch launched by Corum to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. Shining with brilliance, it captures the nobility and majesty of the mythical creature. If the eyes are said to be the window to the soul, then the eyes of a dragon embody the supreme dominance it carries. The spirit of the dragon comes to life through the hand-painted golden scales around the eyes. All the details require special metal casting techniques to create such a lifelike design. Under the signature domed sapphire crystal exclusive to the Corum Bubble series, the eye of the dragon is magnified and becomes even more vivid and lifelike. At the same time, the Swiss luxury brand offers Bubble 47 Dragon, which comes with a black dial evoking a deep night sky. While the mother-of-pearl symbolizes the moon, the golden dragon hovers between mystical black clouds. Its black strap is crafted in vulcanized rubber, with a subtle matte finish, and enhances the sublime presence of the dragon-themed black dial.
Golden Antique Charm
In the profound and tranquil depths of black, an auspicious dragon resides in the Jaeger-LeCoultre's Reverso Tribute Enamel "Dragon,” signifying the arrival of spring in the Year of the Dragon. Designed with simple serenity, one side of the timepiece houses the faceted applied hour markers, chemin de fer minutes track and Dauphin-shaped hands. The dial is crafted in opaque black Grand Feu enamel to showcase an exceptionally saturated but three-dimensional hue of black. To achieve a black of such richness requires five to six layers of enamel, with each new layer followed by firing and cooling. After completing said process, which takes several days, the dial is then polished to achieve a glossy, uniform black finish.
On the other side of the dial is a whole other world - also in opaque black Grand Feu enamel, the dial, without the sun and moon’s radiance, simply depicts a vigorous dragon soaring through the clouds. Exuding a rare sense of peace and solidity, the creature presents a warm and composed aura that surpasses the typical majesty of dragons. The carving of this golden dragon uses the technique known as “Modelled Engraving.” Typically, modelled engraving is done on a blank metal surface, and yet for this time teller, it has to be executed on metal carvings coated in Grand Feu enamel. To avoid damaging the coating, it requires absolute precision. Master enamellers had to employ 10 different engraving tools to craft the metal and highlight the dragon’s polished body and scales through black rhodium-plating to present a unique and ancient charm.
Majestic Brilliance
In the limited edition Harry Winston Chinese New Year Automatic, the traditionally majestic dragon turns into an elegant red lacquer dragon. Cavorting in dreamy white mother-of-pearl clouds, the imperial creature shines with a glossy luster that combines the dragon’s patterns with the undulating clouds to create rich layers. The hour markers are embellished with brilliant diamonds, while the crown at 12 o’clock is topped with a pearl, depicting the image of the dragon holding the precious jewel in its mouth. In folklore, the interpretation of such a divine imagery has various meanings, one of which symbolizes spiritual enlightenment and wisdom. The bright blue lacquer eyes of the creature also subtly convey a sense of rational erudition. All in all, this exceptional Harry Winston timepiece captures the dragon in a rare, elegant posture. The detailed craftsmanship extends to the caseback, where the gold case is polished and hollowed-out to enhance visual transparency, and allows a clear view of the intricate calibre, offering a moment to appreciate the beauty of mechanics.
One-of-a-Kind Nobility
In celebration of the Year of the Azure Dragon, Blancpain introduces a limited-edition Villeret Minute Repeater adorned with a fitting blue caseback. Underneath the golden-carved dragon lies a surface resembling rippling waves, emblematic of the creature’s association with water according to myths. This meticulous dragon, crafted by master goldsmiths of Blancpain's Métiers d'Art workshop, depicts every detail from the head, antlers, scales, serpentine body, legs, five-toed claws, to the dragon pearl. On top of all that, the imperial creature even exhibits a degree of movement: when the minute repeater is activated, the dragon takes on a soaring pose among the clouds. Through a dynamic rhythm, Blancpain interprets the traditional Chinese cultural custom of the dragon dance, which represents peace and prosperity. The chiming of time is designed to resemble church bells in high-pitched sounds to indicate the hour, followed by a combination of high and low tones for each quarter-hour (15 minutes), and concluded with low tones to signify minutes. A unique masterpiece, this time-teller is limited to one piece only, truly living up to the title of being one-of-a-kind.
Meanwhile, the Blancpain Villeret Traditional Chinese Calendar, renewed each year since 2012, unveils a new limited-edition timepiece to inaugurate a new cycle of the Chinese zodiac. To commemorate the turning of the Year of the Dragon, the watch features a dial in deep green Grand Feu enamel and is limited to 50 pieces worldwide. Various functions are clearly displayed on the sub-dials, including traditional Chinese date calendars - 12 double hours, 12 zodiac signs, lunar months and dates, Five Elements, Celestial Stems, leap months - Gregorian date calendar and a moon phase complication. To capture the essence of the Dragon year, the special design is centered within the movement - a majestic dragon sits upon the red gold matte automatic rotor, with a ruby adorned on the side and radiating with a fiery glow - and perfectly illustrates the dragon’s regal and noble presence.