Next year Chopard will officially introduce the L.U.C XP Urushi “Year of the Goat” special edition featuring a maki-e dial to mark the Chinese Zodiac sign for 2015.

A striking but little known sub-collection within Chopard’s L.U.C line of timepiece is the Urushi collection, with dials decorated in maki-e, or Japanese lacquer. Each year Chopard brings out a special edition with the appropriate animal of the Chinese Zodiac, with the goat making its appearance in 2015 for the Year of the Wood Goat, which starts 19 February 2015 and ends on 7 February 2016. Just like this year’s special edition for the Year of the Horse, the maki-e (Japanese for “sprinkled picture”) dial is made by Yamada Heiando, a lacquerware maker established a century ago and supplied to the Japanese Imperial Household. Formed by gold and silver dust, mother of pearl and other metal pigments, the goat is hand-painted with natural lacquer from the Urushi tree and takes several weeks to complete.

Available in rose or white gold, the L.U.C XP Urushi “Year of the Goat” has the standard 39.5 mm case of the L.U.C XP, along with the automatic calibre L.U.C 96.17-L inside. The price is 30,970 Singapore dollars including 7% tax, or about US$24,800.