20 15 almanac
The market is a place to pursue interests, and the popularity of a certain style is never aimless, so is the zodiac watch launched every year near the China Lunar New Year.
Whether Kyle really arrived in China will probably never reach a definite conclusion. However, it is indisputable that people's initial imagination of China, a distant country, originated between the lines of books such as Kyle's Travels. In the illusory imagination similar to Utopia, the ancient East is full of gold, and the city is full of fragrant spices. People there believe in animals such as dragons and phoenixes, and they will determine the date of heavenly stems and earthly branches ... The more they look at flowers in the fog, the more obsessed they become. Therefore, flowers, birds, insects, fish, pavilions and pavilions with oriental charm have been moved to desk clocks and pocket watches one by one, and even the complicated and extremely difficult-to-interpret calendars have been carefully pondered by watchmakers-of course, at first, most of what we saw were ugly watches or tigers, rabbits, dragons and snakes, rather than watches with time standards.
Create a set of Zodiac watches for the China market? When I first entered the business. Earl dancer series zodiac watch.
It can be seen that infatuation belongs to infatuation and reality belongs to reality.
The year after the Earl launched the Dancer series of the zodiac watches, it was the beginning of a new round of meetings-the Year of the Rat, until the end of this year's Year of the Pig. Panerai launched the Zodiac Watch in the Year of the Ox, and Jacques Drouet launched the Zodiac Watch in the Year of the Tiger ... Some people got on the bus, while others quietly left. But there is no doubt that the luckiest is always the watch fan of Shenlong! It is also a multiple-choice question, and the number of lighting options on the theme of "Zodiac Watch" has doubled several times.
From independent watchmaking to big brands, from before Swiss watchmaking brands entered the China market to now, there are the most dragon watches. However, the more you look at the early dragon watches, the more interesting clues you will find. For example, I have seen some independently made dragon watches before. Their eyes are too sharp, sometimes even scarlet, wearing sharp armor, dark and gloomy, full of color, and their charm is exactly the same as the Celtic red dragon and white dragon in King Arthur and the dragon in Kikrit in Song of Nebuchadnezzar. This dragon image can also be seen in many early watches.
However, in the traditional oriental culture, as Luo Yuan, a poet in the Song Dynasty, said in Erya Yi Shi Dragon, the dragon is a beast with "horns like deer, head like camel, eyes like rabbits, neck like stork, scales like fish, claws like eagles, hands like tigers and ears like cows", which is a more beautiful or powerful part of carefully selected animals. More importantly, loong's aura is elegant and auspicious, and it is ethereal. One less point or one more point is just a score. But look at the dragon and phoenix patterns painted by Earl and Chanel in recent years. Patek Philippe even outlined the elegant charm of Han Yulong! Do you think it's good? !
But obviously, the early dragon clocks were not specially designed for the China market at all, and had nothing to do with the China Zodiac. However, the European market is saturated and it has successfully opened the American market. In the process of cultivating this huge market in China, it suddenly ushered in the peak of luxury goods purchase in China ... In the past, watchmakers used double Logo watches to knock on the door of the American market, but in the face of proud China people, it is obviously a long-term solution to recognize them from a cultural perspective. Among them, watches with dragon patterns are getting closer to the imagination of China people, especially those designed for the zodiac in China, the Year of the Loong.
If the dragon only exists in China, the difference of the image of the East depends entirely on the rendering of the story, while the images of mice, tigers and pigs can be said to have reached a high degree of consistency on the watch. For example, I once saw an automatic mouse modeling device in the Patek Philippe Geneva Museum. I am 100% sure that it is the one who cheated the cat in the selection of the zodiac and copied it as the special edition of China Year of the Rat? I agree with both hands!
Although on the other side of the Yangtze River, China people have to argue fiercely whether tofu should be sweet or salty for several years, it is not difficult to please people in this huge market as long as we grasp the key points. The main picture of the "Zodiac" is wonderful, which can resonate with everyone, every family and every year. Watches in specific years can also find bosom friends in other markets.
When the zodiac-themed watches began to develop in full swing, our watch editors would also discuss and compare them privately, but the scope was limited to "which technology is more complicated" and "which pattern is more beautiful (in a broad sense)" ... But since the Year of the Sheep, due to the intervention of "Pleasant Goat" and the serious discussion of the world's major media, this topic began to deviate from the right track ... I often think.
Earl Earl Limited Edition Cloisonne Year of the Pig Enamel Watch.
However, among the brands that have launched the Zodiac watches for several years in succession, I don't think Earl and Panerai agree with China people's appreciation of the design and craftsmanship of the Zodiac watches. Even when the debate is fierce, the two companies are not at fault.
This century's Earl's Zodiac watch is elegant and soft, without any impetuous atmosphere, but it also has the finishing touch, rendering a smart atmosphere. The ripe flat peach in "The Monkey Sacrifices Rui" is the most typical one. This year, the piglets drawn by Anita Porchet also have very realistic light and shadow effects. Handy eyes, curly tail and squatting posture are in harmony with the names of pigs in ancient China: "Black-faced Lang" and "Wujin". However, people fell in love with this watch at first sight, because the whole picture is elegant and soft, and they can also feel the unique gentleness of female enamel, as gentle and considerate as time.
Panerai Luminor Sealand44 44mm 3-day power storage automatic fine steel watch Jihai Year of the Pig.
Compared with the Earl, the patterns carved by Panerai with Bacelo technology are not only similar to those of the Zodiac pig in image, but also its gorgeous design can instantly remind people of the morning of New Year's Day, when the warm sunshine shines on the new window grilles through the window lattice. That kind of happiness is a better blessing and expectation for the new year. By the way, from the front, this is a healthy and energetic military watch, but in any case it is engraved with blessings for auspicious festivals, which is a bit contrary to what you think.
Chopin 18K rose gold L.U.C XP drawing watch for the year of the pig.
In addition, Chopin's L.U.C XP wristwatch series was jointly drawn by Japanese painting master Yoshiichiro Yicun and three painters in neighboring countries, which has inherent advantages. It is full of oriental charm from delicate brushwork to rich background, especially the whole color is heavy and gorgeous, which is different from the noise, but it reveals an ancient and elegant taste, which makes people feel a little sad that another year has passed.
Blancpain 3638 self-winding movement
As Sam Hynes said, the Zodiac watch is a very personal choice. Your own animal sign, or just your favorite animal, will be very special. But when it comes to "income", in addition to personal feelings, we also need to jump out of the emotional shackles and make objective judgments. Among these standards, complexity is one of them. The zodiac watch may be more complicated than the perpetual calendar, if it pays tribute to the China New Year from the inside out.
In fact, as one of the three recognized complex functions, the perpetual calendar has rules to follow because of artificial improvement. On the other hand, the China calendar takes the period of the moon as the basic unit, and determines the exact (relative) position of the sun and the moon through complicated operations. How complicated is this calendar? One characteristic can be summed up: there is no periodic law.
Think about it, we often check the almanac (or look at it) before we know, "Oh, there will be two beginning of spring next year!" Or "Next year will be a year". Simple, how about watching costume dramas every day? Time is like this, right? What time is it now? Anyway, I have to start the index "Tatsumi noon" every time ... These are important timing elements used by our ancestors for thousands of years, and they are complex and changeable. However, in 20 12, blancpain used the self-made 3638 self-winding movement to accurately present many irregular time elements on the dial.
Blancpain China Calendar Edition "Haizhu" Watch
The hour hand, minute hand and standard calendar are located in the center of the dial, and the small dial at 12 o'clock displays hour numbers and characters (24-hour cycle); At 3 o'clock, it shows five elements and ten days of dryness (10 year cycle); At 9: 00, lunar month (12 month cycle), lunar day (3 0-day cycles) and leap month are displayed; The year window at 1 2 shows the zodiac (one cycle of 1 2), and the moon phase profit and loss display is located at 6 o'clock on the dial.
Bumper's China calendar "Hai Zhu" watches issued 36 pieces, numbered 1 to 50, and bounced every Thursday. Each piece of jewelry is equipped with a platinum pendulum and engraved with the design of the zodiac pig.
Since the first dragon watch came out, Blancpain has launched a new watch every year before the Lunar New Year. The main difference is to wear the carved zodiac pattern. The pig carved this year is full of pride. Is it particularly like the bitter fleabane bitter fleabane in The Lion King? Using this classic animation as a filter, I inexplicably feel that wearing this watch will have a wonderful two-sided life, cold and noble, while holding a little boy. But to tell the truth, this watch has no culture and can't even tune it. ...
Vacheron Constantin Art Series China Zodiac Year of the Pig Watch
Vacheron Constantin's Zodiac Watch was launched immediately after Blancpain's first China calendar was released, starting in year of the snake. It belongs to art series and adopts 2460 G4 model movement. Every year, this Zodiac series watch brings together many traditional handcraft skills that require profound skills, such as golden carving and fire enamel. On the basis of conforming to the image of China Zodiac, the artistic style is displayed through visual colors and the depth of relief patterns. But all the secret key points, I think, are still above the 2460 G4 movement.
This sport was not specially developed for the China Zodiac. At first, it was the same series of Les Masques mask watches that attracted my attention to this movement. It has four display windows showing hours, minutes, weeks and dates respectively. The inspiration of this series of masks comes from the real original masks left in ancient times on all continents of the world, and then they are re-made in miniature. Therefore, although time is the purpose of watches, masks are the focus of attention. The 2460 G4 movement perfectly realizes this, displaying time without hands, which makes traditional art and mechanical art more integrated. Therefore, whenever I look at a watch equipped with this movement, I will look at the wisdom handed down from ancient times through the glass curtain wall of the museum and feel the passage of time. It is also because of the existence of Zhuyu that Vacheron Constantin's annual zodiac watch has more display space. From a wristwatch, we can see Vacheron Constantin's endless artistic style and eternal charm of mechanical art.
Breguet Classique Series 7 145 The First Marine Zodiac Watch
Judging from the history of watchmaking, I even read the name of Breguet many times. Therefore, I don't know from which day on, I have a low love, a desire and hope for this brand. The Queen of Naples series embodies all the beautiful imaginations of women about punctuality, even to the point of fascination. Because of this, even though the Breguet Zodiac watch is always a bit eccentric and maverick, I still think it is beautiful. The elegant long curly hair of the "sheep" carved on the shell of the watch in the Year of the Sheep is beautiful, and the watch in the Year of the Monkey is realistic enough to have the illusion of a caveman ... It is also beautiful. On the contrary, the Classique series 7 145, which integrates hand carving, large-scale open flame enamel and carving, suddenly makes this feeling disappear. There are many things in time that have a price. At present, many people are valuable to judge whether a treasure is worth having, but the feeling that can touch people's hearts can't be exchanged for any money.
Finally, I wish you all the best in the Year of the Pig!
The above is a Japanese friend about the birth calendar of the zodiac, and it is about the sharing of the zodiac. After reading the 2022 zodiac table, I hope this will help everyone!