Horsing around: 12 fabulous red packets to collect this Year of the Horse

[SINGAPORE] Chinese New Year will be upon us in a matter of days, heralding the start of the Year of the Fire Horse. Based on the Chinese zodiac, the energetic animal symbolises passion, rapid change and bold, decisive action – making it a particularly hongbao design-friendly creature.

As usual, banks and luxury brands, including carmakers and jewellers, lead the way in making the most desirable-looking red packets.

Here’s a glimpse of what’s being handed out this Chinese New Year:

Boucheron

The French jeweller is known for its artistic finesse, so unsurprisingly, its red packet also features a chic aesthetic – an outline of a horse head in gold foil stamping, its flowing mane cascading from its crest.   

Bvlgari

Much symbolism is in play this year. In Chinese philosophy, fire and water – two of five foundational elements – represent opposing forces that regulate harmony. And so, the Italian luxury jeweller has a horse head facing down little tongues of fire, a calm body of water in the distance.

Scattered across the sky are Bvlgari’s signature eight-pointed stars, with everything encircled by its Divas’ Dream fan-shaped motifs. The artwork is gold foil-stamped on matte card stock that’s also embossed with Bvlgari’s key emblems. Taken together, it is an elegant and luxurious red packet with a uniquely Roman flavour.

EFG Bank

Few companies produce three-dimensional red packets, making the Swiss private bank’s version that bit more unique. More greeting card than hongbao, the envelope opens up to reveal a pop-up, embossed golden horse in mid-leap, surrounded by flowers. Flourish, kinetic energy and a bit of old-school magic – this red packet has it all.

Ferrari

There are two versions of hongbao from the Italian luxury sports carmaker this year. One features its famous Prancing Horse on a red, recycled polyethylene terephthalate envelope with a tessallation of the same logo on the inside. The other version reverses the design.

We should point out that these are for keeps – not mere envelopes, but wallets with magnetic enclosures. Children (and adults) who receive them? Lucky indeed.

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Graff

Just like how the beauty of its high-quality and exceptionally large diamonds is fully realised in the presence of light, Graff is letting illumination bring out the best of its red packets. This year, movement and muscularity are suggested in its graphic horse design, thanks to the use of shiny, textured foil stamping.

The artwork also cleverly incorporates the venerable British jeweller’s fan-shaped emblem and comes in two variants – a red horse on a golden background and vice versa.

Harry Winston

A horse emanating a golden mist as it prances above billowing auspicious stylised clouds (“xiangyun” in Chinese) crafted from a golden die-cut sleeve – that’s what the American jeweller presents this year.

This specimen is L-sized, in matte orangey-red or burgundy card stock envelope. At the same time, Harry Winston exercises restraint with its branding – its name in red foil stamping is small, landing at the bottom of the hongbao. The overall effect? A festive red packet that puts the focus firmly on the magic and vitality of the horse.

LGT Bank

The private banking and asset management group’s envelope features an elaborate, circular die-cut design of a horse, a front leg raised, standing amid shrubbery on a golden background. It is a classy nod to the traditional craft of Chinese paper cutting, used to decorate windows to symbolise the welcoming of spring.

Ode To Art

Year after year, the contemporary art gallery produces fun, maximalist red packets with lots of elements to explore. This year is no exception.

Ode To Art’s colourful envelope features two spinning wheels carrying auspicious blessings playing on the Chinese homophone for horse, including “ma shang cheng gong” (instant success), “ma shang fa cai” (instant prosperity) and even “ma shang zhong Toto” (strike Toto immediately).

Across the busy artwork are eight celestial horses and auspicious symbols such as mandarin ducks and butterflies for love, cranes and tortoises for longevity, bamboo and pine for resilience, and carp for success and determination. This is hongbao chaos that’s as meaningful as it gets, and we love it.

Porsche

The German marque’s four red packets this year are based on famous racing liveries from its heritage – Gulf, Salzburg, Pink Pig and Martini. Designed by Singapore artist Priscilla Tey, the horse is the main motif, referencing Porsche’s crest. Tey’s strong, dramatic brushstrokes encapsulate the horses’ strength, agility and spirit – timely, as this year also marks the 75th anniversary of Porsche Motorsport.

Tod’s

The Italian luxury fashion house known for its high-quality leather goods, particularly its iconic Gommino driving loafers, features a stylised horse head created from foil stamping and outlined with golden stitching on matte card stock. It is understated, artistic and elegant, and gets this year’s horse-y vibes just right for the new year.

Vacheron Constantin

A rearing horse composed of geometric shapes – embossed and gold foil-stamped – is the highlight of the Swiss luxury watchmaker’s Art Deco-inspired hongbao. Printed on matte card stock and decorated with coils of circles in UV spot, it delivers the right level of shine and a nice, solid handfeel. It is also a fine example of Western design motifs applied to an Eastern customary practice.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

The British marque’s iconic Spirit of Ecstasy emblem clearly isn’t that of a horse, but its luxurious red packet deserves special mention. This year, a mini version of the statuette is affixed to the centre of a velvet-lined, cherry red polyurethane leather envelope that is bereft of all other motifs.

This singular focus makes perfect sense in the Year of the Horse, given that the hood ornament – like the equine – symbolises energy, grace, beauty and the freedom of movement. As they say, “if you know, you know”.