As the advent of the Year of the Snake slithers ever closer, these watches are a great way to stay on top of time to make sure you’re prepared for the festive season – while being the perfect piece to celebrate the Chinese New Year season.
For now, here is a list of all the Year of the Snake watches that has been unveiled (so far!) for your viewing pleasure.
Breitling
Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 Cobra Edition
The Avenger, built for jet pilots, is made to withstand even the toughest situation in the cockpit – and the Cobra Edition embraces that boldness with its snake-inspired presence. The case stands at 44mm and features a signature Breitling yellow dial that’s eye-catching to say the least, with three black rehaut sub-dials that create an arresting contrast. On the 9 o’clock subdial, a red cobra stands at attention to show its full strength.
Flip the watch over and the caseback features the rest of the cobra, its slippery body coiled in a lucky knot over the transparent view into the Breitling 01 self-winding movement. Limited to 200 pieces.
Vacheron Constantin
Métiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Snake
We couldn’t take about this watchmaking tradition without talking about the brand that started it all, Vacheron Constantin. Continuing on its tradition, this year it unveils two watches, in platinum and pink gold, depicting a hand-engraved snake cobra in matching material as the centrepiece on the 40mm timepiece. The snake is set against fauna in opaque miniature enamel on a grand feu enamel dial, bringing the allure of the serpent to life.
Telling the time is done through four windows around the dial, showing the hour, minute, day, and date so as to not take away from the majesty of the snake. Powered by the self-winding 2460 G4 movement and accompanied by alligator leather straps, each reference is limited to 25 pieces.
IWC Schaffhausen
Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Year of the Snake
Adopting a more understated approach to its homage to the snake zodiac is IWC Schaffhausen with a striking 37mm Portofino Moon Phase. Sporting a rich burgundy dial meant to symbolise the vibrant colour of fire and gold-plated hands and appliques, this timepiece takes a classic colour approach for the season. The key point on the case front is the moon phase display in the same contrasting gold shade, which operates on a precise system that only deviates from the Earth’s orbit by one day in 122 years.
But the true highlight is hidden on the back, which is a snake-shaped oscillating mass carved from solid 18k 5N gold that winds the 32800 Calibre movement, which beautifully pays tribute to the elegance and mystery of this lunar new year’s mascot.
W iwc.com
Breguet
Classique 7145 Lunar New Year 2025
In true Breguet fashion, the Classique 7145 special edition timepiece highlights two of the brand’s iconic handcraft techniques of guilloché and engraving. The snake, winding in captivating waves around the dial, is hand engraved by Breguet’s artisans on gold using a bas-relief technique that makes the dial a veritable mini sculpture.
Then the sculpture is painstakingly finished in hand guilloche before being painted to bring out the foliage surrounding the snake. In order not to get in the way of the artwork in the dial, the indices are discrete and the gold open-tipped pomme hands are fine. Within, the Breguet calibre 502 with a thickness of only 2.4mm maintains a sense of elegance that completes this 8-piece limited edition reference.
Franck Muller
Silhouette CX Snake
Franck Muller’s Asia Pacific exclusive zodiac watch this year is not only an exciting design, but also marks the debut of a new case, the Silhouette CX case. Inspired by the fluidity and elegance of the snake, the Silhouette CX marries innovation, artistry, and glamour in an asymmetrical, curvy, undulating design. The shape embodies the charm of the snake, while the dial’s design, a snake motif made of handset deep green emeralds, offers a glimpse of the zodiac symbol as if moving across the face.
The new Silhouette CX case is an evolution of the house’s Curvex CX, which was also reimagined from the iconic Vanguard and Cintrée Curvex cases. The Silhouette CX Snake carries on the legacy of 2023’s #FR2NCK MULLER Vanguard for the Year of the Rabbit and 2024’s Cintrée Curvex Ryoko Kaneta Dragon Limited Edition for the Year of the Dragon; which is to be more than just a zodiac watch by always breaking new ground with its launch. The Silhouette CX Snake is limited to 28 pieces.
W franckmuller-asiapacific.com
Longines
Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake
To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Longines collaborated with Chinese artist Wu Jian’an to present the 2025-piece limited edition Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake model. On the 40mm watch face, the sunray red domed dial catches your attention first, followed by the gold gilt hands and indexes that are representative of the Conquest Heritage line, which celebrates the vintage design found in the first Conquest watches.
Turn the watch over to reveal Wu Jian’an’s specially designed emblem depicting a snake clutching a Lingzhi mushroom as its body spirals into concentric circles. The emblem is the artist’s interpretation of the famous Chinese tale from The Legend of the White Snake, thus combining cultural heritage and modern artistic forms while serving as a symbol of good fortune for the year to come. This piece is for those looking for a zodiac year watch that’s a little more lowkey with its clean, vintage design, creating a watch you can wear every day, and beyond the CNY season.
Dior
Grand Soir Year of the Snake
Dior’s take in celebrating this Chinese New Year comes in the form of a brand new Grand Soir story. The snake, opaline and adorned with rose gold detailing, waves its way through the mother-of-pearl dial with Toile de Jouy pattern made with layers of mother-of-pearl leaves and flowers. The delicate details are accented by the delicate rose gold butterflies, which echoes the snake’s scales and brings out the Dauphine watch hands as well as the curving Christian Dior logo, both also in rose gold.
The 36mm case is made from polished stainless steel and features a bezel of rose gold set with 52 diamonds. The case back is milky transparent sapphire glass, allowing a glimpse into the watch’s movement. The Dior Grand Soir Year of the Snake is limited to 38 pieces.
W dior.com
CIGA Design
Year of the Snake
Presenting something a little different is CIGA Design’s Year of the Snake watch, its most prominent feature being the fact that the snake lies at the centre of the dial, constantly rotating, moving, and alive every second. Different from other zodiac watches, CIGA Design (tapping into its roots as a Chinese company) aims to represent the zodiac not just as a totem but as a living embodiment of Eastern beliefs and the people who identify with each zodiac.
Using the brand’s patented Non-Synchronous Follower Technology to keep time, the snake’s head indicates the hours on a stationary dial, while its tail indicates the minutes on a moving dial, keeping the sculptural snake intact as it circles around the dial. On the other hand (no pun intended), the case is made from jadeite and calls to mind thousands of years of the material’s history in Eastern culture.
Read more about wonderful watches here.