Year of the Horse Watches to Usher in the 2026 Lunar New Year
No longer confined to a small number of Asian-market exclusives, luxury Lunar New Year watches have become a globalised category within contemporary watchmaking. From discreet colour cues and movement-level details to full Métiers d’art executions, the zodiac is now deployed as a flexible framework through which brands articulate heritage and craftsmanship.
The Year of the Horse in 2026 offers a particularly clear view of this shift across high horology, industrial chronographs and jewellery-led timepieces where the horse motif is used to reinforce pre-existing brand narratives and increase desirability by leveraging cultural symbolism. What emerges is a spectrum of approaches that reveal how Lunar New Year editions have evolved into a form of strategic differentiation — balancing cultural reference with commercial intent.
IWC Schaffhausen
IWC Schaffhausen marks the 2026 Lunar New Year with a limited edition Portugieser Automatic 42, exclusive to 500 pieces and dedicated to the Year of the Horse. The watch is housed in a 42mm stainless steel case and features a burgundy dial referencing the auspicious red tones traditionally associated with Lunar New Year celebrations. The established Portugieser dial architecture is retained, with small seconds at nine o’clock, a power reserve display at three and a date aperture positioned at six, executed with gold-plated hands and appliques for contrast against the dark dial.
.Inside, the in-house calibre 52011 drives the watch, delivering a seven-day power reserve via twin barrels. The movement employs IWC’s Pellaton winding system with ceramic components and is visible through a sapphire case back, where a gold-plated rotor shaped as a galloping horse provides the edition’s primary zodiac reference. Supplied with both black and burgundy alligator leather straps, the Portugieser Automatic 42 Year of the Horse integrates Lunar New Year symbolism through colour and movement detailing while leaving the core design and technical structure unchanged.
Tag Heuer
For its 2026 Lunar New Year release, TAG Heuer uses the Horse as a symbol of motion and continuity, aligning the zodiac theme with the Carrera’s long-standing association with racing and timing under pressure. Limited to 250 pieces — the Carrera Chronograph Year of the Horse focuses on the Fire Horse — a sign traditionally associated with action and forward momentum. This is reflected in the watch’s visual structure, the champagne sunray dial accented with red chronograph elements and a red central seconds hand — signalling activity without overwhelming the Carrera’s established layout.
At nine o’clock, the date display replaces the numeral seven with the Chinese character for horse, a direct reference to the Horse’s position in the zodiac cycle and the clearest expression of Lunar New Year symbolism on the dial. The motif reappears on the sapphire case back, where a galloping horse is engraved above the in-house calibre TH20-07. Rather than reworking the Carrera’s identity, the Tag Heuer edition uses zodiac symbolism to reinforce existing ideas of motion and performance that already define the collection.
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre approaches the Year of the Horse through craft with the Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Horse’ — a Métiers Rares creation limited to just ten pieces. The Reverso was conceived in 1931 for polo players and the model’s origins are inseparable from equestrian sport, giving the zodiac theme an element of historical relevance rather than simply being a seasonal novelty. The reverse of the pink gold case is devoted to a hand-engraved horse rendered using modelled engraving — a technique that creates depth through sculpted relief and requires around 80 hours of work.
Unusually, the engraving is executed directly onto a surface already coated in black opaque Grand Feu enamel, demanding extreme precision to preserve the enamel’s integrity. The horse appears against sand-blasted clouds, with black rhodium detailing used sparingly to define the mane and hooves. This same Grand Feu enamel is echoed on the dial.
Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin continues its long-standing engagement with Chinese culture with two Métiers d’Art creations dedicated to the Year of the Horse — marking the seventh sign of the zodiac and the second year in the Maison’s current 12-year cycle. The horse is treated as a culturally anchored subject, historically associated in China with good fortune, prosperity and military strength — qualities that align closely with the Maison’s emphasis on endurance and continuity. Both watches are built around the self-winding Calibre 2460 G4, a movement developed specifically to prioritise artistic expression through a hands-free display.
Time is indicated via four peripheral apertures for trailing hours and minutes and jumping day and date, leaving the centre of the dial entirely unobstructed. This space is occupied by a sculptural horse motif, hand-engraved in either pink or white gold and depicted leaping over a rock — a composition that draws on classical Chinese visual language while introducing depth through relief engraving and patinated finishes. The background combines gradient grand feu enamel with miniature-painted foliage, requiring multiple firings and weeks of work to achieve tonal consistency. Offered in pink gold or platinum — each limited to 25 pieces — and are available exclusively through Vacheron Constantin boutiques.
Longines
Longines marks the Year of the Horse with a special edition of its Master Collection that draws directly on both Chinese artistic heritage and the brand’s long association with the equestrian world. Limited to 2,026 pieces, the watch centres its zodiac reference — not on the dial but on the movement — where the gilt rotor is engraved with a galloping horse motif adapted from “Galloping Horse”, a celebrated work by modern Chinese painter Peon Xu, realised in collaboration with the Peon Art Museum. The image — visible through the sapphire caseback — is animated by the motion of the rotor and accompanied by the artist’s personal seal, reinforcing the horse’s traditional associations with forward movement, renewal and favourable momentum at the start of the lunar year.
The 42 mm stainless steel case houses a gradient red sunray dial — chosen for its cultural resonance as a colour of auspicious beginnings — with applied indexes, gilt hands and a moonphase with date at six o’clock anchoring the design within the classical Master Collection vocabulary. Presented on a black leather strap, this edition sees the horse as both a cultural symbol and a natural extension of Longines’ historic role in international equestrian sport.
Hublot
Hublot approaches the Year of the Horse through the lens of material experimentation with the Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Horse Frosted Carbon — a limited edition of 88 pieces that places carbon at the centre of both its technical and symbolic narrative. In Chinese culture, the horse is closely associated with ambition, stamina and forward movement, qualities Hublot translates into a dial constructed from hand-laid carbon marquetry. Individual fragments of carbon are cut, aligned and assembled by hand to form a stylised horse motif outlined in gold — a process that treats an industrial, high-performance material as both a decorative medium and a functional one.
The 42 mm tonneau-shaped case is rendered in frosted carbon — reinforcing the brand’s long-standing emphasis on unconventional materials — while the smoked sapphire caseback reveals the automatic HUB1710 movement with a 50-hour power reserve. Gold detailing on the dial references Tang-dynasty visual traditions without overwhelming the watch’s contemporary identity, keeping the symbolism direct and legible. Presented on a black calfskin and rubber strap, the Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Horse is an extension of Hublot’s broader philosophy of movement and technical control.
Blancpain
Blancpain marks the arrival of the Fire Horse in 2026 with its fifteenth interpretation of the Villeret Calendrier Chinois Traditionnel — a watch that sits at the apex of calendar watchmaking both technically and conceptually. Limited to 50 pieces in platinum, this edition combines a salmon-rose Grand Feu enamel dial with the manufacture’s calibre 3638 — a movement developed over five years and comprising more than 460 components to display the full Chinese calendar alongside the Gregorian date and moon phase. Within Chinese cosmology, the Horse occupies a central role as the seventh zodiac sign and — in its Fire Horse incarnation — is associated with forceful motion and intensity within the 60-year cycle.
Blancpain translates this symbolism onto the 22K gold rotor, where a galloping horse strides over a flying swallow — a direct reference to Tianma, the mythical Heavenly Horse of imperial legend. The rotor is further embellished with the Chinese characters for horse and fire — underscoring the specificity of the year rather than offering a generic zodiac motif. Despite the complexity of its indications — which include Chinese double hours — lunar months and leap months, zodiac signs, elements with Yin and Yang — the display remains structured and legible, supported by Blancpain’s patented under-lug correctors that allow safe, tool-free adjustment. The Year of the Horse 2026 reinforces Blancpain’s long-standing commitment to the Chinese calendar as a living system of timekeeping — one that demands mechanical solutions conceived from first principles.
Piaget
Piaget interprets the Year of the Horse through the language of the Métiers d’art with the Altiplano Zodiac Horse Edition — a limited series of 18 pieces that places enamelling and gem-setting ahead of overt mechanical display. The horse — long associated in the Chinese zodiac with movement and independence — is rendered here as a three-dimensional cloisonné enamel figure in full leap, rising from a dial that has been entirely hand-engraved and enamelled. Executed by Swiss enameller Anita Porchet, each dial is the result of multiple disciplines — with engraved white gold partitions defining areas later filled with grand feu enamel in shades of blue, grey and white, while the upper sections are decorated with Piaget’s Palace décor and set with flowing lines of diamonds.
The 41 mm white gold Altiplano case is framed with baguette-cut diamonds and further accented by brilliant-cut stones along the lugs and a rose-cut diamond on the crown, reinforcing the Maison’s long-standing association with jewellery watchmaking. Beneath the elaborate dial sits the hand-wound calibre 830P — a 2.5 mm-thin movement that delivers a 60-hour power reserve and reflects Piaget’s enduring expertise in ultra-thin construction. The Altiplano Zodiac Horse Edition presents the animal as a sculptural subject, anchoring the symbolism of the Lunar New Year within a tradition of artisanal craft and gem-set watchmaking.
Dior Grand Soir Year of the Horse
To mark the Lunar New Year, Dior Timepieces presents the Dior Grand Soir CNY Horse — a limited edition of 30 pieces that continues the Maison’s annual Grand Soir series dedicated to métiers d’art. The 36 mm steel case is fitted with a pink gold bezel set with 52 diamonds and paired with a steel crown engraved with the CD logo. The dial is crafted in mother-of-pearl and printed with a floral motif that forms the backdrop for a miniature landscape composition. At its centre, a horse sculpted in pink gold moves through a scene constructed from layered elements in pink and white gold, mother-of-pearl foliage and flowers and yellow gold butterflies, with coloured gemstones including amethysts, spessartites, yellow sapphires and blue sapphires integrated into the design. The watch is fitted with a beige satin strap secured by a steel ardillon buckle set with 18 brilliant-cut diamonds — highlighting how the decorative elements and gemstone setting serve as the primary focus of the timepiece.
Arnold & Sons
Arnold & Son presents the Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold “Year of the Horse” — a limited edition of eight pieces that continues the Manufacture’s Chinese zodiac series while placing equal emphasis on métiers d’art and astronomical precision. Housed in a 41.5 mm case in 18-carat red gold, the watch features a nocturnal dial scene built on a base of black aventurine glass, chosen for its depth and natural luminosity. At the centre, a horse rendered in hand-engraved red gold rears on a hilltop — its form defined by detailed engraving across the body, mane and limbs. The surrounding landscape is hand-painted with gold powder to create mountainous relief and woodland elements, with selective applications of red and yellow Super-LumiNova altering the appearance of the scene in low light.
The moon-phase display dominates the upper portion of the dial, with a luminous mother-of-pearl moon and hand-painted constellations of Cassiopeia and Ursa Major— offering both a daytime and nocturnal reading without altering the dial architecture. The movement tracks the lunar cycle with a deviation of one day only after 122 years, assuming the watch remains fully wound and incorporates a secondary moon-phase display on the case back for precise lunar setting. The timepiece is paired with a black alligator strap lined in red alligator leather and secured by a red gold pin buckle — reinforcing the watch’s focus on execution and artisanal detail.
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