The 15 most stunning snake-inspired watches

1. Vacheron Constantin Metiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Snake 

Honouring its historic ties with China, Vacheron Constantin debuts two 25-piece Metiers d’Art creations based on the sixth sign of the zodiac. Crafted in pink gold or platinum, the 40mm limited editions depict an upright, gold-applique cobra unfurling atop a rock, the relief engraving for which took the master artisan three days.

Enhanced by miniature painting and patina, the reptile is set against a blue sky achieved by gradient grand feu enamelling, and green or ochre foliage using an ancestral Geneva technique of flux-coated miniature opaque enamelling.

Powering both versions is the in-house Calibre 2460 G4, which boasts a unique indication of trailing hours and minutes, and jumping day and date — thanks to four discs visible through apertures along the dial periphery. More sophistication is found on the caseback, where the sapphire crystal reveals a 22k gold oscillating weight adorned with a guilloche motif, along with elegant finishes. 

2. Franck Muller Silhouette CX Snake

Marking the launch of the asymmetrical Silhouette CX case, an amazing evolution in Franck Muller’s watch design prowess, is this 28-piece watch that celebrates the snake’s graceful mystique and is exclusive to Asia-Pacific. For such a novel case shape, every component had to be painstakingly crafted and tested. They include the dial and sapphire glass crafted from advanced CNC techniques, and a customised casing ring for the proprietary FM 2038 movement.

Doing justice to the 40mm by 30.8mm rose gold model’s technical wizardry is the hypnotic serpent motif. Offering tantalising glimpses of the creature’s silhouette without revealing its head or tail, it flaunts snow-set deep green emeralds. This piece also comes fitted with an ergonomically integrated calfskin strap in serpentine green and embossed with a snakeskin texture.

3. IWC Portofino Automatic Moon Phase 37 Year of the Snake

This special 500-piece edition from the timeless Portofino collection features a 37mm stainless steel case with a burgundy dial to symbolise the vibrant colour of fire. Its moon phase display, which is so precise it only deviates from the actual orbit of Earth’s satellite by one day after 122 years, features a golden moon and stars that harmonise with the gold-plated hands and appliques.

The refinement extends to the caseback, which flaunts a gold-plated oscillating mass shaped as a snake on the in-house 32800 calibre with automatic winding and a power reserve of five days. The watch comes with two quick-change calfskin straps, in black and burgundy, fitted with a butterfly clasp.

4. Blancpain Villeret Calendrier Chinois Traditionnel 2025

This 14th consecutive annual commemorative timepiece based on the Chinese zodiac sign is also the first to pair a platinum case with a grand feu enamel dial in green — the colour associated with this year’s wood snake. Produced in a limited edition of 50, it fuses a complex Chinese calendar with the Gregorian date and moonphases.

On the 45.2mm watch’s white gold rotor is the subject engraved by Blancpain’s metiers d’art artisans, and complemented by a natural ruby and the etched Chinese characters of “serpent” and “wood”. Driven by Calibre 3638 and its 464 components, this 50-piece limited edition is made very user-friendly thanks to the manufacture’s patented under-lug correctors, allowing the calendar indications to be adjusted easily without the need for tools.

5. Breguet Classique 7145 Lunar New Year

Available in an eight-piece numbered edition, this 40mm rose gold masterpiece highlights the beauty of the snake through the three artistic techniques.

The dial is transformed into a miniature sculpture through bas-relief engraving on gold, while ancestral guilloché lathes that have been in use for over a century are then employed to imbue it with highly intricate patterns. The snake slithers across lush foliage, which is realised by miniature painting in translucent deep and sea green.

Other exquisite features include the “open-tipped pomme” Breguet hands sweeping over the hour track adorned with discreet round gold indices, as well as a gold oscillating weight showcasing a hand-guilloche barleycorn motif. Beating at its heart is the Breguet calibre 502 with a thickness of only 2.4mm, making it one of the thinnest in production today.

6. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel “Snake”

The third in a series of Chinese zodiac watches, following the years of the tiger and dragon, this features a glossy, Art Deco-inspired black grand feu enamel dial that flips around to reveal a perfectly matched caseback.

On the 45.5mm by 27.4mm pink gold metal case emerges a majestic, hand-engraved snake nestled in a wreath of clouds. Finely detailed scales contrast against polished and sand-blasted surfaces, catching the light to create sheer dynamism.

The result of 80 hours of a demanding technique called modelled engraving to maximise volume and depth, the watch also required 24 hours of enamel application and firing work, and half a day of polishing. Limited in production and made to order, it is powered by the manual-winding Calibre 822 movement.

7. Bvlgari Bvlgari Tubogas

The only jewellery watch in this list claims its rightful place proudly, for its provenance goes way back to 1948, when Bvlgari launched the avant-garde Tubogas bracelet for its very first Serpenti creation.

This new model in a long line of cult classics merges the Tubogas design and technique with another of the maison’s stylistic signature, the Bvlgari Bvlgari motif referencing the aesthetic of ancient Roman coins. Three coils of yellow, white, and rose gold are masterfully enjoined to create a supple and seamless bracelet that is capped with a yellow gold watch case bearing a double-logo engraving.

On the black lacquered dial are 12 sparkling diamond indices. Utterly contemporary yet vintage-inspired, audacious yet elegant, this Swiss quartz-powered timepiece is singular in its very manifestation as a bejewelled snake.

8. Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Year of the Snake

One can always count on Hublot for a modern, unexpected interpretation of an ancient symbol, and this intriguing rendition proves it. Inside the Spirit of Big Bang’s signature open dial lives a laser-engraved, red gold-plated snake that slithers around the skeleton chronograph’s three counters.

Ensconcing it is a black barrel-shaped ceramic case topped by a screwed ceramic bezel endowed with a snake-skin pattern. This luscious texture extends to the embossed black rubber strap, which boasts a velvet finish that shimmers ever so slightly.

Making this head-turner more covetable is the fact that its automatic movement, calibre HUB4700, is an advanced descendant of the legendary El Primero, which is considered the first Swiss high-frequency integrated chronograph calibre ever made. Among its technical innovations, compared to the 1969 original, is a low-friction silicon escape wheel.

9. Louis Vuitton Escale Cabinet of Wonders Snake’s Jungle

Placing a reticulated snake within a verdant forest, this 40mm white gold creation is one of three 20-piece editions that blend craftsmanship and Japanese art with inspirations from Gaston-Louis Vuitton’s collection of tsubas (sword guards).

The techniques of micro-sculpting, engraving, and champleve enamelling are used to realise the serpent’s entrancing stance and hues. Its gaze is fixed on an orb of gold and nephrite jade that bears the monogram of the maison founder’s illustrious grandson. Just as stunning is the background of wood, parchment, and straw marquetry totalling 367 individual pieces.

As a model in a collection evoking the spirit of travel, the watch also showcases Seigaiha waves on the case middle, strap buckle, and bridges of the chronometer-standard manufacture calibre LFT023 movement. A hand-braided calf-leather strap resembling a katana hilt completes the artistry.

10. Oris ProPilot X Year of the Snake Limited Edition

With the conclusion of Oris’ 120th anniversary last year, it celebrates fresh beginnings by bringing together the spirit and colourways of the zodiac animal with its innovative ProPilot X Calibre 115. In keeping with the wood snake’s symbolic green, the manufacture has finished this watch’s sinewy skeletonised dial in cyan, which complements the muted tones of the 44mm brushed titanium case and bracelet.

The in-house hand-wound movement offers a 10-day power reserve and a patented non-linear power reserve indicator, which is elevated by a golden hand shaped as a snake’s tongue. On the caseback are engravings indicating it as a numbered piece in this special edition’s limited production of 88.

11. Jaquet Droz Ophidian Hour

The atelier has unveiled two spectacular 41mm watches that, cleverly alluding to the reptile’s anatomy, do not feature any hands. Encased in red gold, both are one-off pieces that tell time via two discs — with the serpent head and tail pointing to the hour and minutes respectively.

Its smoothly curving solid white gold body is enamelled in graduated colours, punctuated by a “ruyi” (good fortune) motif designed by friend of the brand John Howe, who is also the artwork creator for the Lord of the Rings novels. Green and blue are used for the first model with a mother-of-pearl dial decorated with an engraved and miniature-painted bamboo setting. The second flaunts red and green enamel, juxtaposed with the cuprite chrysocolla mineral, also known as Senora Sunrise.

Both stones are also shaped into an insert on the red gold oscillating weight of the movement, which offers 68 hours of power reserve.

12. Ciga Design Year of Snake

Nominated for the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve 2024 is this dark, smouldering watch that expresses the snake through symbolic abstraction and sculptural techniques. Its gold-plated, satin-textured form keeps time by rotating, indicating the hour with the head, and minutes with the tail. T

The hour track remains stationery while the minute track glides along — thanks to CIGA’s patented Non-Synchronous Follower Technology. While the 46mm case is made of black jadeite, its dial is finished in aluminium and imbued with a graphic snakeskin pattern.

The timepiece has a self-winding automatic mechanical movement that offers a power reserve of 40 hours and beats at a frequency of 28,800vph.

13. Corum Golden Bridge “Serpent”

Corum’s iconic Golden Bridge linear baguette movement has a new home on a 51mm by 34mm watch in a tonneau-shaped rose gold case. Fitted with sapphire crystals on nearly all sides, it offers a breathtaking view of the CO 113 manual-winding movement, whose brides and main plate are hand-engraved from 18k gold.

Composed of over 190 components, it is set within the heart of an all-gold jungle made of vibrant hand-painted leaves and vines, around which a beautifully scaled and coloured serpent entwines itself. Requiring nearly 100 hours of work, its craftsmanship also includes micro-sculpture and miniature-painting. This unique piece also musters up 40 hours of power reserve.

14. Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 Cobra

Limited to just 200 pieces, this 44mm stainless steel model is bursting with colours and personality. The cobra, rendered in red, makes an appearance on both the subdial at 9 o’clock and on the open caseback, enlivening the Avenger pilot’s watch.

The grip pattern on the crown and bezel, as well as the square chronograph pushers, ensure the watch can be easily operated even with gloves. Its highly legible Arabic numerals recall the stenciled numbers used on the decks of aircraft carriers.

Its water resistance of 300m and sturdy construction ensures it meets the toughest demands, befitting the spirit of a fearless apex predator. Equipped with the Bretling manufacture Caliber 01, which is a COSC-certified chronometer, it offers about 70 hours and a five-year warranty.

15. Longines Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake

The engraved 40mm stainless steel caseback of this 2,025-piece edition showcases a mystical snake designed by renowned Chinese artist Wu Jian’an, who depicts the coiled reptile holding a lingzhi mushroom in its mouth. On the dial, a sunray gradient red domed dial denotes the colour of celebration and prosperity, with contrast provided by the Conquest Heritage collection’s signature gilt hands and indexes.

Its in-house L888.5 calibre self-winding movement with a power reserve of up to 72 hours is equipped with a silicon balance-spring, as well as innovative components that ensure a magnetic resistance 10 times greater than the ISO 764 reference standard.