Year of the Snake 2025: 13 snake-inspired watches from Hublot, Swatch, Jaeger-LeCoultre and more

Chinese New Year officially starts on 29th January, and 2025 is the Year of the Snake. To celebrate Chinese New Year, many of the best watch brands have launched special and limited edition timepieces, inspired by the new animal for 2025.

In Chinese culture, the snake is considered a symbol of wisdom, cunningness, good fortune and intuition. Specifically for 2025, it’s the year for the Wood Snake which is said to be intelligent, creative and charming, so owning one of these Year of the Snake-inspired watches could bring out all these values in yourself this year.

From scale and fang details to full snake silhouettes, I’ve rounded up the best Year of the Snake watches from Hublot, Arnold & Son, Swatch, Dior, Jaeger-LeCoultre and more that you should add to your collection.

Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold “Year of the Snake”

Starting off strong with my favourite Year of the Snake watch is the Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold “Year of the Snake”. Within its 41.5mm 18-carat rose gold case, the watch has a blue aventurine glass dial which displays a hand-engraved snake with a forked tongue and intricate scales. The snake wraps around a Ginkgo biloba tree and sits underneath a mother-of-pearl moon and constellations.

The Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold “Year of the Snake” is powered by the A&S1512 calibre movement which tracks the age and phases of the moon on the dial and the caseback. It gives the watch a 90-hour power reserve and for more snake accents, the alligator watch strap is textured to look like the underbelly of a snake.

Breguet Classique 7145 Lunar New Year 2025

One of the more expensive timepieces on this list, the Breguet Classique 7145 Lunar New Year watch has an 18kt gold case which houses a guilloche snake-inspired dial. Shown in green, gold, silver and black, the dial uses a bas-relief technique to create a snake’s body which wraps around leaves and foliage.

Measuring 40mm, the Breguet Classique 7145 Lunar New Year is powered by the calibre 502.3 movement that offers a 45 hour power reserve and which can be seen through the caseback. The limited edition watch is finished with a green leather strap – it’ll set you back around £70,000!

Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori

Every year is the Year of the Snake for Bulgari, as the brand is arguably best known for its Serpenti collections of snake-inspired jewellery and watches. For LVMH Watch Week 2025, Bulgari debuted new editions of the Serpenti Seduttori and Serpenti Tubogas, both of which feature new miniature automatic movements called the BVS100.

The Serpenti Seduttori has an oval shaped dial that looks like the head of a snake. It showcases the intricate movement through the caseback and has a two-toned metal bracelet that wraps around the wrist, reminiscent of a snake’s body and its scales.

Dior Grand Soir Year of the Snake

Another personal favourite of mine from this year’s launches is the Dior Grand Soir Year of the Snake. Measuring 36mm and making it perfect for smaller wrists, the Dior Grand Soir Year of the Snake has a white mother-of-pearl dial which is excessively decorated with rose gold and mother-of-pear flowers, foliage and butterflies.

The main attraction on the dial is the rose gold snake that slithers beneath the miniature Toile de Jouy landscape and sits atop a Christian Dior logo. Powered by the Sellita SW300 movement, the watch is complete with more rose gold accents and 52 diamonds on the bezel.

Harry Winston Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm

If Dior’s Year of the Snake watch just wasn’t colourful enough for you, then you might like the Chinese New Year Automatic 36mm from the House of Harry Winston. On the mother-of-pear dial, the watch has a red and gold lacquered snake that peeks out from beneath the gold hands and through the green foliage.

The scales of the snake are embellished with golden petals to show off the texture of the snake. It has bright blue eyes and sits amongst plenty of gemstones, including emeralds, sapphires and garnets. On the bezel are two circles of sparkling diamonds set against the rose and white gold case.

Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Snake

Compared to Hublot’s Year of the Dragon watch which was almost cartoon-like and layered with bright colours, the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Snake is much more dramatic. The dial has an open-work design that shows off the chronograph movement which is playfully surrounded by a gold-plated snake.

The snake loops around the three counters and sits against the black ceramic material and colour of the watch. The case and bezel of the watch has a scale-like pattern and the strap also has a similar design. Powered by the HUB4700 movement, the Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Snake also boasts 50 hours of power reserve.

IWC Schauffhausen Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Year of the Snake

A slightly more subtle Year of the Snake watch is the – deep breath, everyone – IWC Schauffhausen Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Year of the Snake. Measuring 37.1mm, the watch has a burgundy dial and golden moon phase display. By looking at it straight on, you wouldn’t know it was for the Year of the Snake – until you flip it over.

On the caseback, the IWC Schauffhausen Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Year of the Snake has a gold scaly snake or oscillating mass that shows off the 32800 calibre movement. It’s subtle yet effective, and limited to 500 pieces.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Snake

Well known for its Reverso watch, Jaeger-LeCoultre has paid tribute to the Year of the Snake in the form of the Reverso Tribute Enamel Snake. On the reverse side of its signature swivelling case is a gold and black hand-engraved snake that sits amongst golden clouds.

Made from black grand feu enamel, the Reverso Tribute Enamel Snake is beautifully glossy and offsets the pink gold of the case and crown nicely. The watch is finished with a black alligator strap. The great thing about this watch from Jaeger-LeCoultre is that it doesn’t have to be all about the Year of the Snake all the time as you can flip the case back to a clock face and no one will be any wiser.

Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Snake's Jungle

Bold and colourful, the Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Snake’s Jungle sits in a 40mm white gold case and shows off a stunning enamel blue and green snake. The snake sits atop white gold leaves and hands, as well as a background of wood, straw and parchment.

What drew my eye the most to the Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Snake’s Jungle was the snake is bearing its fangs and ready to take a bite out of the Gaston-Louis Vuitton logo that sits at 12 o’clock and is made from gold and nephrite jade. Leaves and waves are engraved into the case and showcased on the movement through the caseback.

Oris ProPilot X Year of the Snake Limited Edition

Another blue-green watch is the Oris ProPilot X Year of the Snake Limited Edition. Similar to the Hublot, the Oris ProPilot X Year of the Snake Limited Edition has an open skeletonised dial which shows off the 115 calibre movement. The power reserve indicator is shaped like a snake’s tongue and the gold and silver texture of the movement is meant to represent the wood element of the Wood Snake.

Most of the dial has a bold cyan colour which sets it apart from the titanium case and bracelet. It’s another subtle take on the Year of the Snake, with the main snake-like parts being the power reserve indicator and a ‘Year of the Snake’ engraving on the caseback.

Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Xiali Chinese Calendar

The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Xiali Chinese Calendar is described as a ‘mechanical marvel’ and I couldn’t agree more. It’s the world’s only mechanical watch to display the full Chinese calendar, which includes the 24 solar terms, 10 heavenly stems, 12 earthly branches, lunar phases and zodiac animals.

The watch’s subdials show the name of the year, the zodiac and its corresponding natural element, so it’s a watch that can be worn all year round and not just for each different animal for the year. The Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda PF Xiali Chinese Calendar sits in a rose gold case with an imperial red dial that’s adorned with Chinese writing.

Swatch Blue and Golden Lithe Dancer

Swatch has come out with two watches for the Year of the Dragon but the Swatch Blue and Golden Lithe Dancer is my personal favourite. Measuring 47mm, the watch has a dark blue dial with multi-coloured prints, including leaves and the scales of a snake’s body. It has a day-date window at three o’clock and golden hour and minute hands with an orange seconds hand.

The bezel of the Swatch Blue and Golden Lithe Dancer is gold and makes the watch look even more oversized. It’s finished with a blue texture strap and gold buckles. Compared to the other entries on this list, the Year of the Snake watches from Swatch are more cartoon-like and are the cheapest at £115.

Vacheron Constantin Meětiers d'Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

Vacheron Constantin always outdoes itself for Chinese New Year, and this year is no exception. Available in two 25-piece limited series, the Meětiers d'Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac showcases a pink or white gold cobra on a rock at the centre of the dial. The snake’s body has a wonderful texture that sits atop a grand feu enamel background.

The Vacheron Constantin Meětiers d'Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac measures 40mm and comes in either a pink gold or platinum case. The dial has four windows on each ‘corner’ of the watch which shows the day, date, hour and minute. It’s powered by the self-winding 2460 G4 movement.