In honour of Chinese New Year, Harry Winston has announced its new Premier Monkey Automatic ladies’ timepiece. The limited edition celebratory timepiece features a monkey set in gemstones, suspended on a backdrop of pink and gold.

It’s the festive season, and the Chinese New Year is also just around the corner, falling on February 8th 2016, to be exact. As the ninth of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac, next year will be the Year of the Monkey. In honour of the New Year – and no doubt in an attempt to appeal to an ever growing Chinese market for luxury goods – brand have started to release their targeted, New Year focused creations.

This year, Harry Winston’s Premier Collection adds a new emblematic symbol to its collection, with the Premier Monkey Automatic. The star of the show is, of course, the diamond-eyed 18K gold monkey at the centre of the dial, which appears to be grasping the bezel at 9 o’clock. The tail winds around another diamond – this one emerald-cut - at 12 o’clock.

It’s not just the symbolic representation of the monkey on the dial that is inspired by Chinese culture. Harry Winston has taken the homage one step further, using appliqué and marquise-cut openwork evocative of Jianzhi, a prized Chinese art form used for centuries to convey lifelong prosperity.

The monkey is suspended on a luminous backdrop made of pink mother-of-pearl, enhanced with flecks of 24K gold, each one of which has been set in individually carved hollows. Combined it creates a magnificent dial with an impressive constellation of precious materials in pink and gold.

On the inside, Harry Winston also means business. The Premier Monkey Automatic 36mm is driven by a mechanical automatic movement that is equipped with a flat silicon balance spring. The circular Côtes de Genève finishing is impeccably crafted, and the impressive movement is visible through the sapphire crystal on the case back.

The watch is wrapped in a rose gold case that measures 36 mm in diameter, which fastens around the wrist with a stylish black satin strap. Sparkling like any fine jewelry, the bezel, lugs and ardillon buckle are set with 74 brilliant-cut diamonds for a total weight of 2.47 carats.

We are expecting to see a lot of appeals to Chinese culture in the coming weeks, as brands honour the Chinese New Year, and equally hope to entice their consumers. With the new Premier Monkey Automatic, Harry Winston has done well in wishing a happy New Year to its fans. Well, at least to only eight of them… because this watch will be a limited edition of only eight pieces.

Technical Specifications

• Reference: PRNAHM36RR010
• Movement: Automatic Calibre HW2008
• Functions: Hours, minutes
• Case Material: Rose gold
• Dial: Pink mother-of-pearl, Inlaid 24K gold flecks
• Strap: 18K rose gold ardillon buckle set with 17 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 0.15 carats)
• Gem-Setting: 75 brilliant-cut diamonds (approximately 2.47 carats), 1 emerald-cut diamond (approximately 0.09 carats)
• Métiers d’Art: Gold engraving
• Water-Resistance: 3 bar