Distinguished as one of the most vibrant and clever signs in the Chinese zodiac, the monkey finds itself the focus of some of today’s finest watchmakers
The kumquat trees are out, lai see packets are being prepared, New Year couplets and decors are being hung, and in spite the chillier-than-usual weather, people are cheerier and more willing lend a helping hand. Yes, Chinese New Year is definitely upon us!
From the introspective and intelligent Goat sign, this year we move on to the Monkey, a sign celebrated for its clever, playful and spirited character oozing with personality.
Perpetually curious and happily lives up to its stereotype of mischievousness, the monkey – as it seems – was a subject watchmakers had a great deal of fun working with.
Should you feel gifting your loved one (or yourself!) with something extra-special, we gather 11 of these homage timepieces which boast a wide spectrum of artistic crafts and interpretations, that surely you will find one to suit your fancy.
Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin continues its Métiers d’Art La Légende du Zodiaque Chinois series with the 2016 monkey watch, featuring a motif inspired by a traditional Chinese paper-cutting technique called Jianzhi. A foliage pattern is etched directly on the metal of the dial giving the design a dimensional effect, while grand feu enamelling brings this canvas to life. Hand-carved either from platinum or gold, the monkey takes pride of place in the centre of the dial. The watch comes in either platinum or 18K pink gold, and is equipped with a manufacture self-winding movement offering 40 hours of power reserve.
Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin, meanwhile, chooses to capture the playfulness and mischievous quality of the monkey in the Classico Singe watch. A decidedly light-hearted timepiece, the brand renders an animated, comic sketch-like grinning monkey that appears to be leaping out of the 40mm-diametier dial, which is given some colour using the champlevé enamelling technique.
The 18K red gold watch is the latest addition to the brand’s Classico Collection, easing well alongside the line’s other limited edition enamelled timepieces. The watch is equipped with the self-winding UN-815 movement with a 42-hour power reserve, and will be produced in only 88 pieces.
Piaget
Piaget has been crafting Chinese New Year watches since 2012 as part of its Art & Excellence collection, a designated line that presents the year’s zodiac sign in grand feu cloisonné enamelling. This year, the watchmaker calls on world-renowned master enamellist Anita Porchet to bring the monkey sign to life in the dial of the ultra-thin Altiplano Cloisonné Enamel watch.
In applying the cloisonné technique, Porchet beautifully isolates the colours, delivering a clear image in spite the dial’s rather monochrome grey hue. Its 18K white gold case set is set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds, and is equipped with a Piaget 430P hand-wound mechanical manufacture movement. This Altiplano watch is limited to only 38 pieces.
Perrelet 
Perrelet’s iconic Turbine design takes on this year’s monkey zodiac in the Turbine Monkey watch, where we see the design’s emblematic 12 blades decorated with the 12 Chinese horoscope signs, highlighting the Monkey at 6 o’clock with a touch of a bright red colour – a design that’s followed in the watch’s black under-dial.
The three-piece robust case was constructed in stainless steel with black PVD coating, and has an integrated crown. The watch is driven by the P-331 automatic caliber, a manufacture movement that offers 42 hours of power reserve, and is fitted with a black rubber strap with a steel black PVC-coated folding clasp. This bold watch will come in only 100 pieces.
Panerai
The Luminor 1950 Sealand 3 Days Automatic Acciaio (PAM00850) is Panerai’s take on the Year of the Monkey watch, which will come in but 99 pieces. It pursues a collection of watches Panerai started in 2009 presenting the year’s Chinese zodiac.
The piece features an eye-catching engraving of a monkey on the steel cover, and as the lid is lifted, one will find a discreet mirror that conceals a minimalist grey dial. Robust at 44 mm, the watch is made with a case produced entirely in stainless steel with a brushed finish, as is the lever device that protects the winding crown. The manufacture automatic P.9000 calibre powers the piece, ensuring complete autonomy for three days.
Jaquet Droz
Jaquet Droz takes this opportunity to once again celebrate its historical ties with China as it looks to the legend of Sun Wukong, otherwise known as the Monkey King, for inspiration in its Year of the Monkey timepieces. A beloved figure in Chinese literature and folklore, the legend tells of a monkey who was appointed a guardian of the Garden of Celestial Peaches but instead ate the sacred peaches to attain immortality.
Jaquet Droz offers two watches – one that depicts a scene of the Monkey King leaping unto a branch in a miniature painting using grand feu enameling on an ivory dial in either a 35mm- or 39mm-case with the smaller one framed with diamonds; and another model where the monkey sculpted from gold is perched amidst delicate foliage of carefully cut and painted mother-of-pearl, which comes with either a red or white gold case. A scant 28 pieces will be produced for each of these four variations.
Hublot 
As the word “ordinary” doesn’t seem to be anywhere in Hublot’s vocabulary, when the brand finally decided to join in the zodiac sign bandwagon it came out with a highly unique and decidedly contemporary piece in the form of the Classic Fusion Monkey Artistic Watch. Carrying on from its “Art of Fusion” theme, Hublot partnered with internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Yue Minjun, best known for his oil paintings depicting himself frozen in laughter.
Minjun presents the Monkey King in this light – its bright pink face giving its owners and bystanders a huge grin on the watch’s blue dial. There are three versions of this watch: a rose pink model that comes with a black ceramic bezel; a dark blue version matched with a titanium bezel; and the Chinese red watch fitted with a gold bezel. A true collectible, the watches have Minjun’s signature printed on their case backs.
Harry Winston
Harry Winston takes full advantage of its expertise as a master jeweller in its first-ever Chinese zodiac-inspired watch, the Premier Monkey Automatic. The delicate timepiece features a pink mother-of-pearl dial embellished with flecks of 24K gold set in carefully carved hollows, creating a whimsical pink and gold constellation, and a monkey carved in 18K gold with a diamond eye and a tail that hangs effortlessly around an emerald-cut diamond at 12 o’clock.
The piece is presented in a petite 36mm rose gold case with its bezel, lugs and buckle set with 74 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 2.47 carats. Only eight pieces will be made of this ultra-feminine watch.
Girard-Perregaux
Girard-Perregaux ups the game with three watches that celebrate the Lunar New Year, namely: the Squirrel Monkey, Papionini Monkey and the Golden Monkey timepieces. The typically traditional watchmaker this time takes on a playful and contemporary approach, presenting the monkeys in mosaic, laid against a royal blue enamel dial.
Keeping the attention on the visuals, Girard-Perregaux opts for discreet leaf-shaped hands. Each watch comes in a 40mm pink gold case, and equipped with an automatic movement that features a pink gold oscillating weight, and promises 46 hours of power reserve.
Chopard
Chopard seeks the expertise of Japanese master lacquer artist Yamada Heiando to create the dials of this year’s series of L.U.C XP Urushi watches, where he uses Urushi lacquer that’s produced from the sap of a Japanese varnish tree. The dials depict a popular scene widely believed among the Chinese to usher in good luck: a monkey gathering peaches.
Here, we see a red-coated monkey perched on a branch gathering peaches at dusk, and behind it ominous looking valleys that make an intriguing contrast with the bright-coloured monkey – all of which housed in a 39.5mm-diameter rose gold case. Beating inside this piece is an ultra-thin L.U.C Calibre 96.17-L movement that houses two barrels enabling an impressive 65 hours of power reserve.
Breguet
Breguet creates perhaps the most delicate and limited Year of the Monkey watch with the Reine de Naples Cammea, which will be the only one of its kind. The piece presents an intricate cameo dial featuring a monkey, carved from natural seashell.
Created solely for aesthetic appeal, the hands are discreetly presented off-centre at 6 o'clock, so as to provide an unobstructed view of this delicately stunning cameo. All this is housed within an egg-shaped white gold case set with diamonds. Turn the piece over and you’re treated to the view of a gold rotor and inlaid with mother-of-pearl.