The Year of the Horse
Chinese New Year has always been a time when symbolism meets celebration. Gold represents prosperity and good fortune, red wards off misfortune while inviting luck, and the gifts exchanged during this period carry meaning that extends beyond their material value. For collectors, this is when watches also become vessels for aspiration, tokens of success, and pieces meant to mark new beginnings.
The Year of the Horse begins in February, bringing with it associations of energy, freedom, and dynamic momentum. RCPO marks the occasion with two Day-Dates from the collection, both chosen for how it embodies the themes that make this celebration resonate: the prosperity of gold, the fortune of red, and the craftsmanship that turns precious metal into something worth passing down.
Day-Date, 36mm, Yellow Gold
Red and gold—the two colours that define Chinese New Year—come together on this Day-Date in the most literal way. A champagne baguette dial framed by a factory-set ruby bezel combines the symbolism of prosperity with the visual promise of good fortune. The full baguette-set dial required exceptional skill from dial maker Beyeler, who produced these in very limited numbers.
Paired with the iconic 18k yellow gold President bracelet, this watch features a Chinese day disc that adds regional significance. Beyond its symbolic resonance, the reference represents a technical milestone—housing Calibre 3055, the fifth-generation Day-Date movement—and features a single quickset function for independent date adjustment. Factory gem-set bezels, like its ruby setting, remain relatively uncommon, making pieces like this both visually distinctive and genuinely rare.
Day-Date, 36mm, Yellow Gold
The "string" dial earns its name from concentric rows of diamonds that decrease in size toward the centre, creating a pattern that draws the eye inward.
Introduced in 1988—a year whose double 8s carry their own auspicious meaning—this reference marked Rolex's shift to the improved Calibre 3155 movement. The technical advancement was double quickset function, allowing independent adjustment of both the date and day through the crown.
For Chinese New Year, a watch like this speaks to connection and continuity. The careful arrangement of diamonds, each sized and set to create the graduating pattern, represents the kind of meticulous craftsmanship that defines pieces meant to endure. It's the watch meant for passing down, for marking moments that matter across generations.
Marking The Occasion
Chinese New Year celebrates renewal while honouring what endures. These two Day-Dates reflect that balance as pieces from an era when Rolex experimented with dial textures, gem layouts, and regional specifications, yet built them on movements and construction methods meant to last generations.\
The ruby bezel speaks to fortune and the string dial to continuity, but beyond their symbolic relevance, these watches represent genuine rarity and craftsmanship from Rolex's precious metal collection during its most experimental period. For RCPO, selecting pieces for this occasion means understanding both: the meaning these watches carry during Chinese New Year and the horological merit that makes them worth celebrating any time of year.