Top of the Line Watches for The Year of the Dragon

As we celebrate the year of the Dragon, horologists around the world are putting their master craftsmen to work making the most intricate dragon themed timepieces they can muster.
Being born in the year of the dragon is particularly auspicious, with character traits of “dragon babies” leading to particularly good life outcomes. In recent years this belief has resulted in under resourcing at hospitals as an influx of planned babies flood the scene. Even in western culture if you had to choose to be born under any creature most people are going to pick dragons. They represent everything, new life, strength, good news. All things that are worthy of a new watch.

Blast – Tourbillon Dragon

The Tourbillon Dragon Is Ulysse Nardin’s offering to celebrate the lunar new year. Its dragon spirals throughout the piece’s iconic X structure seemingly blurring the line between its movement and its dial. Its destination? A pearl sitting at the six o’clock atop the cage of the flying tourbillon. They used a five clawed dragon as it traditionally signifies the highest prestige, which this timepiece definitely aims to be. The dragon itself is hand sculpted in 5N rose gold.

The Blast Tourbillon has been a mainstay piece within Ulysse Nardin’s collection since 2020, and it’s been a popular choice ever since with its Calibre UN-172 with automatic winding. It’s their first Skeleton tourbillon calibre, and it’s not shy about flaunting its stuff, with a platinum micro-rotor visible at the 12 o’clock. This tiny rotor can deliver up to three days of power reserve.
The Tourbillon Dragon is adorned in satin brushed and polished finishes with a bezel and 45mm case in DLC-blackened titanium. On top, an upper case of rose gold ads a touch of class and opulence. You’re going to find a lot of gold on this piece.

An integrated black alligator strap with a 5N rose gold and black PVD titanium folding clasp keeps the whole timepiece secure.

This is a work of art that adds a third dimension to a piece dedicated to measuring the fourth.

BR 05 Artline dragon

Limited to just 99 pieces, the Bell & Ross BR 05 Artline dragon takes the classic dragon tattoo iconography and applies it directly to the timepiece itself.

Bringing the black and white illustration pop to the BR 05 is all part of the line’s mission statement. “We wanted to launch a watch that was dressy and decorated. The BR 05 had potential, with a case with ample space for embellishment”, Bell & Ross’ Creative Director Bruno Belamich noted at the launch of the first Artline model. The series first launched in 2019 merging together contemporary elegance with an urban design.

Before assembly each link is individually laser engraved onto satin-finished and polished steel. The design culminates in a Chinese dragon, its teeth ready to enclose on the date indicator. The Satin-finished rhodium-plated skeletonised hour and minute hands filled with black lacquer effortlessly blend with the engraving, looking like the whiskers of the dragon.

The case is 40mm and 10.33mm thick encasing a calibre BR-CAL.321, a self-winding mechanical movement with a 54-hour power reserve.

Its exclusivity is a consequence of it’s complexity of design, limited to just 99 pieces. The BR 05 Artline Dragon is on sale exclusively in Bell & Ross boutiques and e-boutiques.

Flagship Heritage – Year Of The Dragon

The venerable Swiss watchmaker Longines has never celebrated the Zodiac, but 2024 changes all that with the special edition of its Flagship Heritage series new moonphase model.

To give it the proper respect it deserves Longines commissioned Renowned Chinese artist Zinan Lam to design a dragon with its head raised and soaring upwards, intricately engraved on the case back. The raised head implies well-being and the eternal cycle of life in the Year of the Dragon. While the back contains the most explicit reference to the Year of the Dragon the front uses a red gradient representing vitality on the face, for the first time in the collection’s history. The moonphase function located at the six o’clock pops from the red dial and looks gorgeous in what Longines has described as exuding “an aura of oriental retro charm.”

Flagship is one of Longines oldest collections, stretching back to the late 1950s. It has a timeless understated design, making it an evergreen staple worth collecting long after the Year of the Dragon is over. It has a 38.5mm steel case with a distinctive domed dial and eleven gilt hour markers. The piece is powered by the exclusive Longines calibre L899.5 which has a power reserve of up to 72 hours.

The Flagship Heritage Year of the Dragon is a limited edition run of just 888 pieces.