We present a round-up of watches that honour the beauty, wisdom and elegance of this year’s Chinese zodiac.
From high elegance to wallet-friendly beauties, here are Year of the Snake watches to keep your style on point this Lunar New Year.
East Meets West
In the year of the Wooden Snake, east meets west in the Villeret Calendrier Chinois Traditionnel 2025 timepiece from Blancpain. Originally launched in 2012, this was the first watch in the world to combine a complex Chinese calendar with the Gregorian date and moon phases. Then 12 years later (one Chinese zodiac cycle), Blancpain revamped the design of the 12 zodiac animals on the Villeret. So now, for the first time, the refashioned snake icon will appear at the window positioned at 12 o’clock.
This calendar is also the first to pair a platinum case (45.2 mm) with a green Grand Feu enamel dial. Another snake appears on the 22K white gold rotor viewed through the transparent caseback. It is beautifully drawn by Blancpain artisans, supported by an engraving of the Chinese words for “serpent” and “wood”.
The watch is powered by the Calibre 3638 with a 7-day power reserve. In front, the dial houses a magnificent array of functions. A display of the five elements with Yin and Yang (linked to the sexagesimal cycle) sits at 3 o’clock. Then, the Chinese days and months are at 9 o’clock while double Chinese hours reside at 12 o’clock. Elsewhere, the moon phase is placed at 6 o’clock. Also, a serpentine hand guides us to the Gregorian date, and the strap is in a brown alligator leather.
