Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Mythology says that it was the Jade Emperor who held the race to see which animals should lend their names to the 12 years that make up the cycle of the Chinese zodiac. The rat came first because it had the cunning to hop on the ox’s back to get across a river, the far side of which marked the finish line. At the last second it hopped off and across the tape to win, leaving the ox with nothing more to do than moo that the race had been stolen.
But the Year of the Rat is over, and with Chinese New Year on 12 February the ox claims the throne. To celebrate, leading watch brands are offering these horological treats…
Jaquet Droz Ateliers d’Art collection Petite Heure Minute Buffalo: ivory Grand Feu enamel dial with miniature painting in an 18ct red-gold case set with 232 diamonds, £37,450. Limited edition of eightJaquet Droz Ateliers d’Art collection Petite Heure Minute Buffalo: ivory Grand Feu enamel dial with miniature painting in 18ct red-gold case, £33,050. Limited edition of eightJaquet Droz Ateliers d’Art collection Petite Heure Minute Relief Buffalo: hand-engraved and hand-painted 18ct red-gold buffalo and tree relief appliqués (tree set with 27 rubies) in an 18ct red-gold case, £62,300. Limited edition of eightJaquet Droz Ateliers d’Art collection Petite Heure Minute Relief Buffalo: hand-engraved and hand-painted 18ct white-gold buffalo and tree relief appliqués (tree set with 27 rubies) in an 18ct white-gold case, set with 272 diamonds, £72,600. Limited edition of eightChopard LUC XP Urushi Spirit of Shí Chen: 18ct ethical rose gold, £33,200. Limited edition of 88Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art the Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Ox: pink gold, £107,000. Limited edition of 12Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art the Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Ox: platinum, £130,000. Limited edition of 12Piaget Altiplano: cloisonné enamel ox-motif dial in 18ct white gold set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds, £63,000. Limited edition of 38Blancpain Traditional Chinese Calendar: Grand Feu enamel dial in a platinum case with exclusive complication, engraved on back with ox symbol, £72,800. Limited edition of 50Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Ox: haematite dial with 18ct yellow-gold ox in relief and 18ct red-gold case, £49,700. Limited edition of eightDoraemon x Gucci Dive watch: canvas dial with Doraemon print in yellow-gold case, £1,150. (Doraemon, here wearing ox horns, is the hero of a Japanese manga series – a cat-type robot from the 22nd century)Harry Winston Premier Chinese New Year Ox Automatic 36mm: mother-of-pearl dial with diamonds in an 18ct rose-gold case, £48,400. Limited edition of eightDior Grand Bal Jardin Fleuri: red mother-of-pearl dial with diamonds, pink sapphires and rubies in a steel and pink-gold case, £27,000. Limited edition of 88Swatch Ox Rocks: dial decorated with two black Swarovski crystals in a plastic case, £108
Comments