A Year to Watch

Panerai Luminor 1950 Sealand 3 Days Automatic Acciaio (PAM852) - Year of the Rooster

Since 2009, Officine Panerai has released watches with ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon and other animal motifs on them to pay tribute to the Chinese Zodiac calendar.

This year is no different with the special edition Luminor 1950 Sealand 3 Days Automatic Acciaio 44mm (PAM852) dedicated to the Year of the Rooster.

The engravings are all done by hand by the best Italian master engravers using the ancient technique of 'sparsello' - named after the special tool used to decorate the cover of the watch.

The task requires focus and concentration as grooves are first made in the steel before they are inlaid with gold threads; one wrong move and the process starts all over again from scratch.

The watch itself features a grey dial with Arabic numerals, linear hour markers, and seconds subdial plus date window at the nine- and three-o-clock positions respectively.

It is powered by the in-house P.9000 automatic calibre, has a power reserve of three days, water-resistant to 10 bar (about 100m), and comes on a soft brown strap (with a spare black rubber one for a sportier look).

The PAM852 Special Edition is available exclusively in Panerai boutiques.

Casio G-Shock Zodiac Series Rooster Edition

Casio G-Shock's popular extra-large case GA-110 model gets a makeover this Lunar New Year.

Paying homage to the Chinese Zodiac Rooster, the band features a special graphic and design decked out in vibrant spring colours.

Not only that, an old Chinese script that was used during the Bronze Age of China is used to indicate and commemorate the Year of the Rooster.

This limited edition timepiece comes complete in a white box with gold elements and each bears a unique serial number. Available at G-Factory stores (JEM, Tampines Mall, Bugis Junction, ION Orchard).

Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art - The legend of the Chinese Zodiac Rooster

The Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art collection has a new member this Lunar New year with two new creations to mark the Year of the Rooster.

Like last year's which paid tribute to the Year of the Monkey, the new pair is all about craftsmanship and comes in either a 40mm platinum or 18K 5N pink gold case.

The foliage motif that appears on the dial are inspired by the art of Chinese ('Jian Zhi') and Swiss ('Scherenschnitt') paper-cutting techniques and are etched directly in the metal to give a depth effect so that the design appears to be floating over the dial.

Next comes the stage of Grand Feu enamelling - which only a few particularly skilled artisans can pull off - to enhance the intensity of the blue or bronze-toned dial.

The rooster, made of platinum or pink gold, is then hand engraved and delicately applied to the dial's centre.

Bearing the Hallmark of Geneva, these two hands-free time display watches beat with the Caliber 2460 G4; four apertures show the hours, minutes, days and date.