Happy Chinese New Year! This Friday, February 16, marks the start of the Year of the Dog, the 11th sign in the Chinese Zodiac. To mark this momentous occasion, the master artisans at Breguet and Panerai have created limited-edition dog-themed watches.

The dog embodies certain important traits that include loyalty, bravery, honesty and devoted attention. The dog is smart and incredibly lively. These are the features that Breguet hoped to interpret in their new timepiece: the Breguet Classic 7145 Chow Chow watch. Powered by a mechanical movement that can be viewed through the sapphire caseback, the Classic 7145 watch features the dog in the center of the dial, happily stealing the show. The fully engraved white gold dog sits atop some coins and is set against a hand guilloché dial. The detailing of the dog on the dial requires hundreds of hours of engraving work, as well as dozens of hours creating the guilloché ivory background. Just eight pieces will be made.

Another brand we carry here, Panerai, has unveiled a Year of the Dog watch in the form of a fully engraved and pierced hinged-cover on the Panerai Luminor 1950 Sealand 3 Days Automatic Acciao watch. The cover opens to reveal the dial beneath, but it is on the cover where the gold-and-black engraved and lacquered dog sits in majesty against a plum-flower background. Panerai will produce 88 pieces of this watch.