Ring in the Chinese New Year with these red watches

Scarlet Fever

Carry fortune on your wrist all year round with the latest band of passionately hued watches.

The Lunar New Year brings with it the promise of renewed fortune – but, apparently, only to those who play by the rules. This usually means less sweeping and more symbols of good luck, like the colour red – and a lot of it. As no one wants to look like a fire hydrant all year, good luck charms exist. So if you’re looking for a little boost in prosperity (or even an early Valentine’s Day gift) without compromising your wardrobe and worldly image, these unintentionally auspicious watches should do the trick.

01 Ophion OPH 786 Velos Radial Red
Ophion watches look like they cost more than they do and that’s their main selling point. But the new OPH 786 Velos has one more: a case manufactured by Voutilainen & Cattin, a case- making company partly owned by independent legend Kari Voutilainen. The Radial Red with its brushed metallic dial was produced in a limited run of 55 pieces as it was created especially for the ongoing edition of Jeweluxe. It is one of two versions made for the watch and jewellery festival that runs till Feb 28. The other features a salmon-coloured, CNC machine-milled guilloche dial.
02 Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph Limited Edition 8
Commissioned by Sincere Fine Watches, this limited- edition chronograph offers an auspicious take on a Montblanc high-horology favourite. Ordinarily available with blue, green and black faces, the eight- piece limited edition features a smoky red lacquer dial with a glossy sheen achieved with 15 layers of translucent lacquer. The 44mm titanium case houses the manual-winding in-house calibre MB M16.31. In addition to the split-seconds complication, the dial is further enhanced by a telemeter scale around it and a snail-shaped tachymeter in the centre.
03 Rado Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy
Brightly coloured ceramics are rare in watchmaking as the firing process naturally dulls the pigments in ceramic powders. So, the fact that Rado has not only achieved a reasonably bright red ceramic but paired it with a red dial, red strap and a bronze case in its new Captain Cook Bronze Burgundy makes it quite difficult to look away from. Still, the warm glossiness of the ceramic bezel, the metallic sheen of the case and dial as well as the Nato strap help break up the chromatic impact. It is powered by an automatic calibre with 80 hours of power reserve and water resistance of 300m.
04 Hublot Big Bang MP-11 Red Magic
A movement with seven barrels offering a power reserve of two weeks deserves to be seen. And Hublot has made sure to give its fascinating HUB9011 calibre plenty of eye-catching cases to shine in, including green sapphire crystal and diamond-studded King Gold. But its latest look is the most impactful yet. The Big Bang MP-11 Red Magic uses Hublot’s high-tech red ceramic – the first ceramic to possess such vivid colour when unveiled in 2018. This sporty colourway, combined with the unusual, bulging case and crystal, is sure to turn heads.