Tiger Tales

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Tiger Tales - Chinese New Year
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These watches tell the story of 2022, year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac…

Today marks the first day of the new year, according to the Chinese calendar. Following the 12-year zodiac cycle, where every year is linked to an animal, the year beginning on 1 February 2022 is associated with the tiger. As rational beings whose Weltanschauung centres on science and not superstition, we probably shouldn’t read too much into the significance of each year’s animal. That said, after 2020 (the Year of the Rat, an animal known for two things — its superb survival instincts, and for spreading pestilence) and 2021 (the Year of the Ox, long-suffering beast of burden), we’re absolutely ready for the fighting spirit and raw power that the Tiger is poised to bring to 2022. 

As expected, a number of watch brands have celebrated the occasion of the Chinese New Year by releasing watches featuring this majestic member of the family Felidae. If you’re looking for a timepiece that represents all the energy and determination we have for the year ahead, why not try one of the following? 

Chopard

Despite its name, the Chinese New Year is celebrated by ethnic Asians across the world, not just in China. Although Japan has aligned its official New Year celebrations with the Gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar and the 12-year zodiac still has great cultural significance, and the Chopard L.U.C. XP Urushi Year of the Tiger depicts this year’s zodiac animal using the traditional Japanese decorative art of maki-e. Layers of urushi lacquer and gold dust are applied to the dial to create an illustration of a tiger poised atop a hill, looking over its shoulder while roaring (perhaps bidding a firm goodbye to the year just past). 

Contes de tigre

Jaquet Droz

The Petite Heure Minute watches of Jaquet Droz have always been the brand’s canvas for artistic expression, and their six tiger-themed watches for 2022 reinforce this point. The tiger is depicted in various scenes of repose: idly watching a carp swim past, examining its reflection in a perfectly still pool, or looking outwards against a dial of black opal. The use of black opal is particularly stunning, since the prismatic interplay of green and blue recalls the vivid hues — the verdant vegetation and sunlit rivers of a tropical jungle. The tiger is engraved in gold, but the stripes on its body are pierced through to expose the dial underneath, evoking the tiger’s stealth and talent for camouflage.

Contes de tigre

Mathey-Tissot

Although tigers (and people born in tiger years) are traditionally associated with fast, decisive action, the dial of the Mathey-Tissot is the result of painstaking crafts that takes hours to complete. A gold-plated tiger gazes out from the dial, against a background of stone marquetry, with details brought out in lacquer. The three-dimensional quality of the dial decoration allows the tiger to seem nearly alive — you can almost hear the sound of its paws and the swishing of its tail as it approaches.

Tiger Tales

Piaget

Contrary to popular belief, white tigers are not regular tigers with albinism — they still bear their dark stripes, meaning they are not true albinos. They are, however, extremely rare and almost never appear in the wild. Most white tigers are bred in captivity, and are either from the Bengal or Siberian sub-species of tiger. Capturing the exotic splendour of this beast is the Piaget Altiplano, with the tiger executed in cloisonné enamel. The dial is signed with the initials of Anita Porchet, frequent Piaget collaborator and the most famous horological artisan of our time. 

Tiger Tales

Ulysse Nardin

While most media depictions of tigers (photography, nature documentaries etc) show them during the day for obvious reasons, tigers are actually nocturnal and do most of their hunting when it gets dark. Ulysse Nardin uses a number of enamel techniques in the Classico Tiger, from champlevé (deep-relief engraving before infilling with enamel) to paillonné (embedding precious metal in translucent enamel) to portray a tiger on the prowl under the full moon. The exposed gold of the dial forms the tiger’s pelt, and is hand-worked with fine scratches to mimic the texture of fur.

Tiger Tales

Vacheron Constantin

Most people are familiar with the 12-animal Chinese zodiac, but did you also know that each year also has an associated element? There are five elements in ancient Taoist philosophy — wood, water, earth, fire and metal. Last year, 2021, was the year of the Metal Ox, for example, while this year is not just any year of the Tiger, it’s the year of the Water Tiger. The tiger watches of Vacheron Constantin this year come in two versions: one with a golden-brown enamel dial, and another that acknowledges the element linked with the tiger in 2022 with a teal-blue dial, reminiscent of water. 

Tiger Tales

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