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From playful pandas to golden panthers: Animal-inspired watches with surprising designs

An octopus sculpted from glass, a wolf that marks the full moon and a frog whose eyes tell the time. Discover how watchmakers are bringing the animal kingdom to life in unexpected ways.

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Allyson Klass

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A panther sculpted in gold, an octopus fashioned from glass or a wolf that marks the full moon: the animal kingdom offers watchmakers a wide scope for creativity. Some capture the texture of fur or feathers through intricate artisanal techniques, while others make eyes, tails and mouths part of a fun time display. Familiar and mythical creatures alike come to life on these watches, giving you more to look at than the time.

Vacheron Constantin Metiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom

Feathers, paper and wood become unlikely dial materials in Vacheron Constantin’s six Tribute to the Animal Kingdom concept watches. Created through its One of Not Many Crafts Programme, the series brings together six artisans from outside traditional watchmaking to apply their skills to a miniature canvas.

On Feathersnake, Julien Vermeulen creates a blue-green serpent from more than 200 tiny pieces cut from seven lophophore feathers. An eye in gold and enamel completes the creature. Glass artist Simone Crestani’s Glassoctopus suspends a transparent, hand-sculpted glass octopus above a dark-blue, hand-guilloche gold dial, its curling tentacles suggesting movement underwater.

For Oraygami, Anya Midori uses micro-origami to arrange six folded manta rays at different heights on brass stems beneath a crystal with a moire effect. Embroidery artist Laura Baverstock’s Tigerbroidery uses yellow and white gold threads to form a prowling tiger, with ceramic-coated copper wires defining its stripes amid silk-embroidered vegetation.

Paper artist Marianne Guely’s all-white Papercroc resembles a scene carved from ice. She embosses, cuts and layers cotton paper to form a crocodile and foliage, creating relief and subtle shadows. On Woodenwings, wood marquetry artist Anna Le Corno combines three-dimensional marquetry and hand-carving to create a falcon from 12 wood species. Individually assembled wing feathers rise above the dial, making the bird appear poised for flight.

Housed in 42mm gold cases, all six watches are powered by the self-winding calibre 2460 G4, which has a 40-hour power reserve. Hours, minutes, day and date appear through four apertures around the dial’s edge, keeping the animal portraits unobstructed by conventional hands.

Patek Philippe Reference 5738/50G-039 “Crouching Lion”

A lion carved in stone becomes a study in light and shadow on this Golden Ellipse, one of the Rare Handcrafts timepieces presented at Patek Philippe’s Watch Art Grand Exhibition in Milan in 2026. The dial depicts Pasquale Ricca’s 1866 Crouching Lion sculpture, which stands in Naples’ Piazza dei Martiri. Here, the Swiss watchmaker gives it a different backdrop, placing it before the sweeping colonnade of the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola in Piazza del Plebiscito.

The scene is rendered in grisaille enamel au blanc de Limoges. Working over opaque black enamel, the artisan uses a tiny brush and needle to build up white enamel, creating monochrome gradations that capture the lion’s muscular form, cracks in the stone and surrounding architecture. Each dial requires 19 to 20 firings at temperatures between 755 and 780 degrees Celsius.

Limited to six pieces, the watch houses the ultra-thin, self-winding calibre 240 in a white gold case measuring 34.5mm by 39.5mm and just 6.58mm thick. Its proportions follow the golden ratio, while fine white gold hands and a shiny black alligator strap complete the composition.

Tiffany & Co Toucan Paradise Bird Watch

A toucan with a turquoise beak and pink sapphire eye takes its place on Tiffany & Co.’s latest jewellery watch. Perched on a 2.5-carat purple chalcedony cabochon, the bird recalls the house’s Bird on a Rock brooch. Here, it is given a tropical setting inspired by the Blue Book 2026: Hidden Garden high jewellery collection.

Sculpted in yellow gold, the toucan is set with 69 stones, including blue sapphires, tsavorites and white and yellow diamonds. Creating it took 32 hours, while the foliage beneath required more than 80 hours of enamelling. Three coats of hand-painted leaves sit over four layers of opaque blue enamel.

There is a clever detail beneath the bird’s perch: an opening in the dial aligns with a window in the caseback, allowing light to pass through the chalcedony and accentuate its colour and depth. The 36mm white gold case is snow-set with 425 diamonds of varying sizes, leaving little metal visible. Powered by a Swiss quartz movement and fitted with a navy-blue alligator strap, the watch is limited to 10 pieces.

Jaquet Droz Luo River Automaton

A mythical fish swims through a mother-of-pearl river on this one-of-a-kind timepiece by Jaquet Droz, its body and tail moving as it circles the dial. Known as the Kun in Chinese mythology, it shares the scene with gold water lilies and a winged chariot drawn by water dragons.

The watch grew out of a collaboration with Wang Limin, a master of quejinxiu, a traditional Chinese embroidery technique that uses gold thread, peacock feathers and silk. Inspired by a painted scroll featuring a poem composed in AD 222, its imagery explores eternal love and the passage of time. Wang also handcrafted the strap and presentation case, extending her contribution beyond the scene on the dial.

At the centre are red gold hands that tell the time on a pale imperial jade dial. Around it, an animated ring completes a rotation every 30 seconds, carrying the swimming fish. A gemstone-set water lily adds another surprise, changing from purple sapphire to blue sapphire to emerald at 10-second intervals. Activated by a pusher at 3 o’clock, the animation runs for up to four minutes.

Housed in a 43mm red gold case measuring 16.96mm thick, the watch is powered by the self-winding calibre 2653 AT2, which delivers a 68-hour power reserve. A separately hand-wound automaton mechanism brings the river scene to life.

Cartier Panthere Jewellery Watch

Cartier’s emblematic panther, with eyes of tsavorite garnet and a nose of onyx, is sculpted in gold on this medallion-shaped jewellery watch from the Into the Wild collection. Created at the Maison des Metiers d’Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the Panthere Jewellery Watch draws inspiration from the ancient art of cameo carving to give the feline’s portrait depth and expression.

Three crafts come together here: sculpture, gem-setting and lacquering. The panther is modelled in yellow gold, while the gem-setter removes metal to give the stones greater prominence. Diamonds cover the bezel and four lugs, framing an onyx dial that echoes the animal’s black nose. 

Its stylised spots are rendered in black lacquer, inspired by vintage Cartier pieces. Against the gold, these dark markings sharpen the feline’s features, while the tsavorite eyes lend it an intent gaze. Powered by a quartz movement, the watch features a yellow gold case measuring 38.9mm by 25.6mm and 9.7mm thick, paired with a leather strap.

Hermes Arceau Cavalier en Formes

An engraved yellow gold horse takes centre stage on the Hermes Arceau Cavalier en Formes, surrounded by blue circles, squares and finely engraved leaves. Hidden within the geometric arrangement is the suggestion of a rider, reconstructed in cubist-style shapes by Italian artist Gianpaolo Pagni.

Originally created for a silk scarf, the design began with an equestrian lithograph from the Emile Hermes collection. Pagni retained the horse but replaced its rider with abstract motifs. Transferring the image to a watch involves miniature painting on both sides of a sapphire layer set onto the dial. Combined with engraving and a gold applique, the overlapping elements give the scene depth while allowing light to pass through.

A tourbillon adds movement beneath the horse at 6 o’clock. Its carriage echoes the double-H motif found in the historic lift at Hermes’ flagship boutique in Paris. The hand-wound H1924 movement also incorporates a minute repeater, which chimes the time on demand, and has a 90-hour power reserve. The six-piece limited edition pairs a 43mm white gold case with a deep-blue alligator strap crafted in Hermes’ workshops.

Hublot Classic Fusion Balloon Dog by Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons’ iconic Balloon Dog has found a new home on the wrist. Working with Hublot, the American artist has reworked the Classic Fusion to echo the rounded forms and reflective surfaces of his famous canine sculpture. The effect extends well beyond a dog on the dial. The 42mm case, bezel, sapphire crystal and even the exposed screw heads have been given domed contours, making the watch appear inflated. A rubber tail protrudes from the case between 10 and 11 o’clock, while the crown resembles a balloon’s inflation valve. Look closely at the seconds hand and you will see that a miniature Balloon Dog forms its counterweight.

Three versions offer different takes on Koons’ mirrored finishes: polished stainless steel or anodised aluminium in saturated red or blue. Padded metallic straps continue the illusion of air-filled volume, while Koons’ signature sits at 6 o’clock. Each edition is limited to 200 pieces and houses the self-winding HUB1710 movement, which has a 50-hour power reserve and a date window at 3 o’clock.

Seiko Power Design Project Collection 2: The Panda Chronograph HHK001 and HHK002

Watch enthusiasts have long called white chronograph dials with black subdials “pandas”. Seiko designer Kiyotaka Sakai decided to take the nickname literally. His Panda Chronograph features droopy eye-shaped subdials and a textured dial that recalls the animal’s fur. Rounded ears double as chronograph pushers, while a small, three-dimensional tail appears on the caseback. Even the tachymeter is renamed the Sasameter after sasa, the Japanese word for bamboo. Its scale measures speeds up to 30km/h, a nod to a panda’s theoretical maximum running speed.

The black-and-white model HHK001 is joined by the pink HHK002, inspired by a newborn panda. Both were developed from a concept shown at Seiko’s Incredibly Specialized Watch Exhibition in 2024, part of an initiative that gives its designers room to experiment beyond their everyday work. Inside the 43mm stainless steel case is the quartz calibre 8T61. Leather straps with suede-like sections continue the furry theme. The watches are limited to 3,000 pieces in black and white and 2,000 in pink.

Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Unfrogettable

With bulging eyes and a royal crown perched on its head, the Unfrogettable turns the Frog Princess of Slavic folklore into a watch with an amusingly wide-eyed expression. Louis Erard and independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin have brought the character back in two new colourways: turquoise with violet accents, and brown with ochre and warm gold tones.

The frog’s face doubles as a horizontal regulator display, which separates the hours, minutes and seconds. Its left eye indicates the hours at 9 o’clock, while the right tracks the seconds at 3 o’clock. As the discs rotate, their pupils shift position, changing the creature’s expression. An arrow-shaped central hand indicates the minutes, while the winding crown at 12 o’clock completes its playful aesthetic.

The 40mm Grade 5 titanium case houses the automatic Sellita SW266-1 movement with a power reserve of about 38 hours. Both versions come with black Himeji Kurozan calf leather straps, hand-rubbed and finished with traditional Japanese Urushi lacquer. Each colourway is limited to 178 pieces.

Konstantin Chaykin Wolf

Pointed ears, bright eyes and fangs give Konstantin Chaykin’s Wolf a suitably predatory look. The second character in the watchmaker’s East collection draws on the animal’s associations with ancestry, strength and guidance in East Asian traditions.

Its face tells the time through Chaykin’s signature Joker display: the left eye indicates the hours, while the right indicates the minutes. Wavy guilloche suggests thick fur, sandblasted brows add depth and elongated upper lugs form the animal’s upright ears. The most intriguing detail sits between its jaws. Instead of showing the full lunar cycle, a specially developed indicator marks only the period around the full moon. A red disc, resembling the wolf’s tongue, gradually appears the day before the full moon and stays visible through the following day before jumping out of sight. The 40mm stainless steel case houses the automatic K.18-28 calibre with a 68-hour power reserve. Unlike many of Chaykin’s character watches, the Wolf is produced without a fixed edition limit.

Bvlgari Pavone Bracelet High End Watch

A peacock spreads its bejewelled plumage across the wrist in Bvlgari’s Pavone Bracelet High End Watch, part of the Roman house’s latest high jewellery collection, Eclettica. Sacred to the Roman goddess Juno and associated with beauty, pride and protection, the bird has appeared throughout centuries of Roman art. Here, its tail becomes a flowing white gold bracelet, with feather-like curves and arabesques that recall the mosaics of Rome’s Baths of Caracalla. The peacock’s head curls around the dial, drawing the time display into the sculptural composition. 

The gem-setting is extensive: 1,725 round-cut diamonds totalling about 60.5 carats are joined by 78 buff-top rubellites and 45 buff-top emeralds. Pear-shaped rubellites highlight the markings on the tail feathers, while a faceted emerald forms the peacock’s eye. Housed within this elaborate plumage is Bvlgari’s Piccolissimo BVL 100 micro-movement, whose diminutive proportions allow it to fit within the peacock’s sculptural design.

Source: CNA/bt

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