Let’s face it: when it’s the Year of the Rooster – or worse, the Rat – enthusiasm tends to be muted. But when the zodiac wheel lands on the Horse – and not just any horse, but the Fire Horse – it’s time to giddy up. (Sorry.)
Watchmakers know this instinctively. Horses carry a rare cultural crossover appeal: racing, riding, mythology, power, beauty. Add horology to the mix and you’re no longer dealing in novelty, but in genuine emotional currency.
If you happen to be born in a Horse year, so much the better – that’s a trifecta before you’ve even glanced at your wrist. Chinese New Year falls on 17 February this year, which means you could even stretch to a superfecta and make it a Valentine’s gift. Talk about the stars aligning.
Long embedded in Chinese culture and art, the horse symbolises vitality, elegance, loyalty and courage, with a healthy dose of good fortune thrown in. Those born under the sign are said to be energetic, adventurous and brave. Naturally.
Here, then, are the standout Year of the Horse watch launches worth backing.
Gucci
Equestrian G-Timeless Métiers d’Art
Gucci was ahead of the pack on this theme. Last July, the Italian house unveiled its Equestrian G-Timeless Métiers d’Art timepieces alongside a wider suite of nature-inspired designs — botanical, marine and savanna scenes — each reflecting a considered balance of archival design language and high-level craftsmanship.
The equestrian dial motif is a miniature reproduction of a classic Gucci scarf from the 1950s [pictured right]. It’s executed as a 40-piece micro-marquetry in Italian olive wood, layered with hand-engraved rose-gold overlays and appliqué-set green tsavorites. A rose-gold, diamond-set tourbillon bridge completes a vignette that captures speed, power and beauty in miniature.
Beyond the artistry, the watch further cemented Gucci’s growing haute-horology credentials while underscoring its long-standing connection to riding culture. The house’s iconic ‘Web’ striped ribbon motif, after all, was inspired by the saddle girth – its colours echoing jockey silks and British regimental stable belts.
Beneath the surface, a thoroughbred manual-wound movement delivers a formidable 110-hour power reserve. The result is a watch that treats heritage not only as decoration, but as a living design code.
Harry Winston
Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm
Harry Winston marks the Year of the Horse with a rose-gold addition to its Harry Winston Moments collection – a limited-edition automatic that leans heavily into symbolism, craft and gemstone virtuosity.
The dial is dominated by a three-dimensional horse rendered in hand-applied red lacquer, its rearing pose a nod to the independence, energy and ambition traditionally associated with the sign. Red and gold set the tone throughout – a pairing long linked to prosperity in Chinese culture – with mother-of-pearl clouds at the base of the dial crafted using marquetry techniques. Eight marquise-cut diamonds, chosen for their auspicious numerical significance, radiate across the upper dial, while emerald-cut and brilliant-cut stones mark the remaining hours.
The 36mm Harry Winston Moments case, introduced in 2024, is crafted from 18k rose gold and measures a slim 9.15mm thick. Its defining feature is a crown positioned at noon, set with a white pearl, flanked by diamond-set arches and twin gold channels holding 118 brilliant-cut diamonds.
Inside sits a Swiss automatic movement with a 40-hour power reserve, visible through a sapphire caseback and finished with traditional Côtes de Genève. The watch is paired with a glossy red alligator strap, presented in a red box shaped like an octagonal Chinese temple, and produced in a strictly limited edition of eight pieces.
If you don’t get the significance of the number eight, then this might not be the right article for you.
Vacheron Constantin
Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Horse
Vacheron Constantin’s relationship with China stretches back nearly two centuries, and the Year of the Horse editions in its Métiers d’Art Zodiac series are a continuation rather than a flourish.
Archival records show the Maison sending 33 pairs of watches to Canton (now officially known as Guangzhou), as early as 1846, with commissions following from senior dignitaries and, eventually, the imperial court itself – an early recognition of Vacheron’s decorative and technical prowess.
For the Year of the Horse, Vacheron Constantin introduces two limited editions of 25 pieces, housed in 40mm cases in either 950 platinum or 18k 4N pink gold. Inside is the in-house calibre 2460 G4, a self-winding movement that uses four discreet apertures to display the time, leaving the rest of the dial free for decoration.
And that decoration is the real focus. Each horse motif is brought to life through a combination of relief engraving, micro-painting and grand feu enamelling, all executed by the brand’s in-house métiers d’art specialists. It’s a measured, confident expression of the zodiac theme – technically sophisticated, culturally literate, and unmistakably Vacheron Constantin in its execution.
You know what they say: if it’s good enough for the emperor…
Hublot
Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Horse
Hublot has marked Chinese New Year with limited editions for more than a decade, but this is the first time the Spirit of Big Bang has been used as the canvas – and it suits the brief well. Limited to 88 pieces, the Year of the Horse edition blends traditional symbolism with the brand’s characteristically modern materials and construction.
The tonneau-shaped 42mm case is crafted in matte black carbon, matched to a black calf-rubber strap and smoked sapphire caseback. Inside beats Hublot’s MHUB1710 automatic movement, whose emphasis on robustness and precision mirrors the themes running through the design.
The real talking point is the dial. Drawing inspiration from Tang-dynasty art, it depicts a dynamic horse motif created using hand-laid carbon marquetry – an unusually intricate application of a material more often associated with pure performance. Each fragment of carbon is individually cut, aligned and assembled by hand, then combined with gold-plated appliqués that outline the horse in sharp relief.
The result is graphic rather than ornate, with black lacquer beneath the dial adding contrast and depth. It’s a confident, technically driven interpretation of the zodiac theme – less reverence, more momentum – and very much in keeping with Hublot’s forward-looking approach.
Ball Watch Company
Engineer II Galloping Horse
Ball Watch Company has definitely understood the assignment with its Engineer II Galloping Horse. First up, there’s the sculpted metallic horse – sweeping proudly from 5pm to 7pm (prime aperitivo time)
Then comes the “Fire” in the Fire Horse. In Chinese Five Elements philosophy, Fire nourishes Earth in a cycle of creation and renewal. Ball leans into that symbolism with a Tiger’s Eye dial – a stone traditionally aligned with the Earth element. It’s a smart choice, not just conceptually but visually.
Tiger’s Eye is prized for its chatoyancy – that feline flicker that shifts as the light moves. The effect is subtle but alive, the dial shimmering between golden browns and darker caramel striations. Working the stone into wafer-thin, durable dial form is no small technical feat, and each cut reveals its own patterning, ensuring no two pieces are identical.
The final nod to the Year of the Fire Horse is the counterweight of the seconds hand – shaped into the Chinese calligraphic character for ‘horse’.
Ball Watches Engineer II Galloping Horse, £1,880, ballwatch.com
Arnold & Son
Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold "Year of the Horse"
Arnold & Son continues its measured exploration of the Chinese zodiac with the Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold Year of the Horse – a watch that places astronomical complication and métiers d’art on equal footing.
Produced in a strictly limited run of eight pieces (are you seeing a theme yet?), its 41.5mm red-gold case frames a nocturnal scene in which a rearing horse dominates the dial, rendered as an 18k gold appliqué and hand-engraved to emphasise movement and muscle.
The backdrop is a deep aventurine sky, flecked with stars and layered with engraved relief suggesting distant hills and woodland. Fine hand-painted gold accents trail behind the horse, while discreet applications of red and yellow Super-LumiNova subtly transform the scene after dark.
Above it all sits Arnold & Son’s signature astronomical moon-phase display, executed in luminous mother-of-pearl and detailed with the constellations Cassiopeia and Ursa Major. The reverse side of the case hosts a secondary moon-phase indicator for precise setting.
Power comes from the in-house hand-wound A&S1512 calibre, featuring twin barrels and a 90-hour power reserve. Accurate to within a single day every 122 years, it underscores the brand’s longstanding mastery of lunar complications – poetic, yes, but underpinned by serious horology.
Oris
Year of the Horse Limited Edition
Oris has marked the arrival of the Fire Horse with a limited edition that blends bold colour, mechanical depth and a typically thoughtful twist on zodiac symbolism.
Limited to just 88 pieces – double the luck! – it’s a watch that wears its intent clearly. The palette does much of the storytelling. A deep crimson dial sets the tone, punctuated by sub-dials that shift through warmer, flame-like hues towards their centres.
Gold-toned accents add contrast, while the look is grounded by a rich brown Shell Cordovan leather strap – a subtle but deliberate nod to the horse itself, made from traditionally tanned horsehide prized for its durability and texture.
Inside is Oris’s in-house Calibre 113, a hand-wound movement offering an impressive ten-day power reserve.
Alongside its business calendar – displaying day, date, month and week – sits a distinctive non-linear power-reserve indicator. Rather than a conventional scale, Oris uses two horse motifs: a galloping figure when the mainspring is fully wound, and a resting horse as power runs low, an elegant visual metaphor for stored and spent energy.
It’s a characterful, mechanically serious take on the Chinese New Year theme.
TAG Heuer
Carrera Chronograph Year of the Fire Horse
Perhaps the most subtle of our line-up, TAG Heuer’s Year of the Fire Horse edition takes the familiar Carrera chronograph and injects it with a carefully judged dose of zodiac symbolism.
Limited to 250 pieces, it’s a watch that nods to cultural tradition without losing sight of the collection’s long-standing motorsport roots.
The 39mm Glassbox case frames a dial that shifts from deep crimson at the edges to warmer champagne tones towards the centre, a subtle gradient intended to echo the energy associated with the Fire Horse.
Rose-gold-plated hands and indices, accented with red, add warmth without tipping into excess. At nine o’clock, the Chinese character for horse (马) is integrated discreetly, serving as a marker of the occasion rather than a headline feature.
Turn the watch over and a sapphire caseback brings the extra horsepower – in the form of a sapphire-printed racehorse mid gallop. Beneath it sits the automatic Calibre TH20-07, offering an 80-hour power reserve. It’s a modern, robust movement that suits the Carrera’s reputation for everyday usability as much as sporting credibility.
Finished on a beads-of-rice bracelet and individually numbered, the Year of the Fire Horse Carrera is less about spectacle than balance – a contemporary limited edition that respects both TAG Heuer’s racing heritage and the symbolism it sets out to celebrate.
Dior
Grand Soir Year of the Horse
Dior continues its annual exploration of the lunar calendar with a Year of the Horse edition that places decorative craft front and centre. Part of the Grand Soir collection, the watch draws on the maison’s long-standing relationship with pattern and ornament, reimagining the Toile de Jouy motif as a richly layered nocturnal scene.
The 36mm polished steel case is topped with a pink-gold bezel set with 52 brilliant-cut diamonds, lending structure and sparkle without overwhelming the dial. Within, a pink-gold horse moves through a stylised landscape built from mother-of-pearl, gold detailing and carefully selected coloured stones. Floral motifs are printed directly onto the dial base, while sculpted foliage, butterflies and gemstone highlights – including amethysts, spessartites and yellow and blue sapphires – add depth and texture.
Timekeeping is handled by pink-gold Dauphine hands, paired with a matching Dior signature. Power comes from the automatic Sellita SW300 calibre, offering a 42-hour reserve and visible through a subtly tinted sapphire caseback with pink-gold metallisation.
A beige satin strap softens the overall look, secured by a diamond-set steel ardillon buckle. Limited to 30 individually engraved pieces, the Grand Soir Year of the Horse is less about horological minimalism and more about Dior’s instinctive feel for narrative, surface and detail.
