Every fine watch should have its history. The “Mouse King” watch, the latest addition to Konstantin Chaykin’s Wristmon collection, is no exception. The tale of this watch began during the Christmas holidays, when Konstantin Chaykin decided to read a bedtime story to his daughter. There could only be one choice – Ernst Goffman’s timeless “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, without which the New Year period isn’t complete. This story is of course very close to the heart any master of horology thanks to the character of Drosselmeier, senior court advisor, wizard, and watchmaker, who “stick sharp things into the clock’s inside, so that little Mary felt quite sorry for it; but this did the clock no harm, which, on the contrary, got to life again and at once began to tick, strike, and chime, to the delight of all the family”. But this time, Konstantin Chaykin was more intrigued by another of Goffman’s characters – the Mouse King. The reason was clear – the forthcoming Chinese New Year, with the traditional oriental 12-year cycle bringing, in 2020, the year of the metallic mouse and seeing Konstantin Chaykin considering different variations of mouse-inspired watches.

This year the exact date of the Chinese New Year, 25th January, coincides with his daughter’s birthday, as well as his mother Tatiana’s name day. Coincidences are not accidental thought Konstantin Chaykin, which is why he decided to combine two characters – the first, the enterprising, inventive mouse of Chinese myths, the first animal which came to the reception of the Jade Emperor Yu Di, who wanted to get to know all of the tianxia world inhabitants, and the second being the creation of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Goffman, the angry but extravagant Mouse King with seven heads and seven crowns. Of course, Chaykin couldn’t just present an angry mouse, given his creation of the Wristmon collection’s smiling moonphase indicator. Perhaps there was another watchmaker-oriented reason for Konstantin Chaykin to focus particularly on this character. The watch term “crown”, (in French ‘couronne’ and in German ‘Krone’), had given him a long-term desire to create a watch with a crown in the 12-o’clock position.

This acts as a reminder of the earlier period of the development of wristwatches, in which some watches positioned a Lépine-type movement as the crown at the top of the dial. It can be said that Konstantin Chaykin had simply been waiting for the right moment, a moment which became the “Mouse King” watch. Because this is the first time in the history of watchmaking that a watch has been crowned with a real royal “crown”, Konstantin Chaykin decided that the crown should be made of 18-carat gold and adorned with a genuine ruby. The extravagant character of the “Mouse King” watch is further demonstrated with another extraordinary detail, which Konstantin Chaykin designed especially for this watch – a high quality, leather strap with ermine “royal mantle”. According to the traditional 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the year of the metallic mouse (rat), which is the first year of the cycle, therefore, for the watch case, polished titanium was a natural choice – metal, which in colour and texture resembles mouse fur.

A year earlier Konstantin Chaykin released the unique piece “Unique Pig” in honour of the Chinese New Year, which was his first experience working in this genre, already quite popular in the art of high-class watchmaking. The “Mouse King” watch continues this series, cementing a new tradition in the collection of Konstantin Chaykin. The extravagant character of the “Mouse King” watch is further demonstrated with another extraordinary detail, which Konstantin Chaykin designed especially for this watch – a high quality, leather strap with ermine “royal mantle”.

According to the traditional 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the year of the metallic mouse (rat), which is the first year of the cycle, therefore, for the watch case, polished titanium was a natural choice – metal, which in colour and texture resembles mouse fur. A year earlier Konstantin Chaykin released the unique piece “Unique Pig” in honour of the Chinese New Year, which was his first experience working in this genre, already quite popular in the art of high-class watchmaking. The “Mouse King” watch continues this series, cementing a new tradition in the collection of Konstantin Chaykin. Perhaps there was another watchmaker-oriented reason for Konstantin Chaykin to focus particularly on this character. The watch term “crown”, (in French ‘couronne’ and in German ‘Krone’), had given him a long-term desire to create a watch with a crown in the 12-o’clock position. This acts as a reminder of the earlier period of the development of wristwatches, in which some watches positioned a Lépine-type movement as the crown at the top of the dial. It can be said that Konstantin Chaykin had simply been waiting for the right moment, a moment which became the “Mouse King” watch. Because this is the first time in the history of watchmaking that a watch has been crowned with a real royal “crown”, Konstantin Chaykin decided that the crown should be made of 18-carat gold and adorned with a genuine ruby.

The extravagant character of the “Mouse King” watch is further demonstrated with another extraordinary detail, which Konstantin Chaykin designed especially for this watch – a high quality, leather strap with ermine “royal mantle”. According to the traditional 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the year of the metallic mouse (rat), which is the first year of the cycle, therefore, for the watch case, polished titanium was a natural choice – metal, which in colour and texture resembles mouse fur. A year earlier Konstantin Chaykin released the unique piece “Unique Pig” in honour of the Chinese New Year, which was his first experience working in this genre, already quite popular in the art of high-class watchmaking. The “Mouse King” watch continues this series, cementing a new tradition in the collection of Konstantin Chaykin.

Konstantin Chaykin has his own original tradition – every year he creates a new wrist monster for Halloween. Meet the extravagant version of the Pumpkin Head – the ‘Green Halloween’ watch (‘Make Halloween Green Again’), which for sure has earned its place among the other spooky and scary monsters by Konstantin Chaykin.

A circus tent, a festive mood, multi-coloured balloons, candy floss on a stick…. The circus clown –  comedian, children’s entertainer – fits perfectly into this picture. But a truly terrifying clown is the clown who hides his face behind a white painted mask, with dramatically accentuated eyes and an always-laughing blood-red mouth, a clown monster, who just when you think has gone is certain to return.

The first version of the “Clown” watch sold out immediately back in 2017, added to the collections of watch connoisseurs from around the world. For this reason, at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), in which the “Clown” received a prestigious short list nomination, Chaykin was forced to take a functioning prototype of the original model.

The only thing Konstantin Chaykin came back with from the GPHG was a “Golden Arrow” statuette. The “Audacity” prize – the first award ever won at the Geneva Grand Prix by a watchmaker from Russia. That is why his new dancing “Clown” he decided to call…”Audacity”.

Clown 2 Audacity – the perfect name for a new watch which is truly audacious, that is non-conformist, provocative, extraordinary, spectacular…all characteristics which are hallmarks of the “Wristmons Monsters” collection by Konstantin Chaykin.

For the Clown 2 Audacity watch, Chaykin’s well-known dial with dancing eyes – showing the hours and minutes, and trademark moonphase indicator smile – has been given a new design. The colour scheme of the watch is set by the light blue eyes and golden-edged dial – this colour scheme is repeated in the blue with yellow stitching of the alligator leather strap.

On the reverse of the Clown 2 Audacity case one can find, presented in relief, a mysteriously symmetrical and absolutely deserted circus tent – the place where we should find a crowd of people having fun, anticipating the show, has nobody there… In every aspect the Clown 2 Audacity watch is unlike any watch you’ve ever seen before.

Watches dedicated to the symbolic creatures of the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac are one of modern watchmaking’s more beautiful traditions, enabling the timepieces to be imbued with the meanings and stories of Chinese mythology.

Konstantin Chaykin noted that the bull, in one form or another, appears in almost all mythologies of the world. Bulls were honoured (while also widely used in ritual sacrifices) in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, ancient Greece, ancient Rome and, of course, in China, where the bull is ranked second in the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle.

Konstantin has always been amazed at how incredibly meticulous the ancient Greeks were in their myths when it came to numbers. In the myths about the Minotaur, it is stated that the Athenians, in paying the tribute demanded by King Minos, every year brought seven boys and seven girls to be devoured by the bull-headed monster. Seven and seven – for a watchmaker these numbers instantly bring to mind associations with the day of the week indicator. Chaykin immediately thought of a technical solution for how to make the day of the week indicator big enough to fit his idea of the Joker indication as a calendar. With two discs indicating the hours and minutes, there was no room for a day of the week indicator disc of a size to suit Konstantin. The two ‘sevens’ of the legend of the Minotaur led him to the idea of constructing a watch with a double-disc day of the week indicator, with the first letter of the day of the week on the first disc, and on the second, the second letter.

And so, in Chaykin’s imagination, the Minotaur – the creature of the myths of ancient Greece – burst its way into Chinese mythology. In the course of his reflections, Konstantin Chaykin gradually created the image of a watch – a bronze case, a dial made with bronze tones, a brutal buffalo-leather strap, and a watch décor featuring the motif of the Knossos labyrinth, where, legend has it, the Minotaur lived. This motif can be found in the relief pattern on the dial, the engraving on the strap buckle, and on the automatic winding system. The upper lugs are made in the form of bull’s horns, without which the image of the Minotaur would be incomplete and unconvincing.

The master decided to use the Minotaur’s two nostrils, flared in anger, as apertures in his large day of the week indicator. Perhaps not entirely respectful of the mythical monster, but such is the essence of watchmaking, putting everything at the disposal of watch mechanics. In order to make the indicator more convenient, Konstantin Chaykin opted to use sapphire lenses in the aperture window, the same as he had previously developed for the unique emoji-joker day of the week indicator in the Joker Selfie watch.

Limited edition of 8 pieces

Snowflakes sparkle in his eyes! It’s time for the Santawatch.

What is Christmas and New Year without Santa Claus? It’s probably like Halloween without a toothy, big-eyed jack-o’-lantern. Who else knows this better than Konstantin Chaykin, creator of the Halloween Wristmons series? Twice the Russian watchmaker has celebrated the arrival of New Year according to the Chinese calendar, with 2019’s Unique Pig 2019 and the Mouse King of 2020. Now, with the festive season approaching, he has created his own Christmas and New Year watch.

So, meet Santa!

If you think it would be enough just to decorate the dial of this kind of watch with a cute picture, then you clearly don’t know Konstantin Chaykin. Each new watch must tell a story, which Chaykin thoroughly investigates and thinks through. This forms the basis for the many interesting and often unique details created for a timepiece – in the movement, the design and the finishing. Therefore, getting to know his watches always becomes a fascinating journey into the world of haute horlogerie, feeding inquisitive minds and bringing pleasant emotions.

The first thing you notice about the Santa watch is the glasses on the dial. In fact, the glasses are now a quintessential part of the Santa Claus image, along with his long red coat, hat trimmed with white fur, and his grey-white beard and hair. This might be the time to ask the question – did Santa really wear glasses?! It is obvious that the original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, did not – could not – have worn them, given that they had not yet been invented in his day (although they were invented a long time ago, in 13th-century Italy). The very fact of the appearance of glasses as one of the main attributes of the Santa costume remains covered in a veil of mystery. Even the museum of the Coca Cola company, who havebeen using the image of Santa Claus in their advertising for almost a century – since 1931 – and are often thought to be the creators of the classic modern Santa look, do not help to give a definitive answer to the question – who gave Santa glasses? Nevertheless, now we know for sure who the first watchmaker to create glasses for a wristwatch dial and equip them with real sapphire lenses was – Konstantin Chaykin. Naturally, the glasses, despite their miniature size, were not cheap, especially lenses of unique geometry. But how can you refuse Santa at Christmas?

Santa is watching you!

The glasses of the Santawatch increased to 18 the number of components on a dial which was already difficult to manufacture. But that was the least of the problems. Chaykin had a choice – the appearance of glasses on the dial meant that it was higher. Additional space was now required inside the case as he didn’t 15/2 Rechnikov str. Moscow 115407 Russia Tel.: +7 (495) 988-73-72www.konstantin-chaykin.com want to make the case itself any higher. The Russian master decided to do things the hard way, modifying the proprietary joker-indication module. Whereas in the standard movement (caliber K.07-0) the convex discs of the hour and minute indicators were installed above the moonphase indicator disc, in the new caliber K.07-2 all three discs are in one line. Konstantin used shorter axles for the hour and minute indicators while also increasing the radius of the sphere (these discs always having a spherical surface). The Wristmons’ eyes have slightly decreased in size, visually compensated for by the sapphire lenses, as has the diameter of the lunar disc. The face-like dial had to be redesigned, which was inevitable anyway given that Chaykin creates a new design for each new character of the Wristmons collection.

Some of the design features of the watch are obvious, while some require closer inspection. Among the more obvious elements of a watch made in honour of Santa are the bezel of the steel case, marked with the letters of the word ‘Santa’, and the steel caseback. This, as well as the appropriate inscriptions regarding the name of the watch, the name of the watchmaker who created it, the material of the case, the country where the watch was made, and the number of the piece in the limited edition – alas, only three in total! – also has a carefully relief-engraved Christmas image. Santa carries gifts on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, flying over the snow-covered trees of Lapland…or is it Oymyakon…? Cosy memories of childhood, of letters to Santa, of gifts under a festively-decorated Christmas tree, all become even warmer when looking at the red-lacquered box of the watch, a box also decorated with snowflakes. Hidden inside is a soft red leather case, in which Santa delivers his presents (though of course, Santa’s bag is a little bigger). This will come in handy if you need to take your copy of the Santawatch on a trip. It’s mandatory, if we’re talking about Santa, for red to be used in the strap specially created by Konstantin Chaykin for this watch. The new Santa Strapcontinues the tradition of collectible straps, established by the Russian master with the invention of the Joker Tie-strap (2018). The one-of-a-kind Santa Strap is decorated with white appliqués, giving the look of Santa’s beard and hair. This perfectly matches watches with the joker-indication module, though in a regular watch such a strap would look too pretentious.

Konstantin Chaykin tried his best to hide one more – and last – Christmas surprise. In order to find it, you’ll need a bit of help. Here’s a clue – the glasses, a freshly-baked invention of Chaykin’s. Look Santa straight in the eyes and there on the carefully lacquered spherical surfaces of the discs you’ll find seven snowflakes. What better way to create a festive mood than the sight of snowflakes slowly circling in the night sky?

Perhaps you already understand that Chaykin has his own way of telling the story of Santa Claus – the always smiling, always calm, always generous grandfather who brings gifts to good boys and girls. Maybe, sometime long ago, you asked Santa for a magic watch, but you’ve already forgotten. It turns out Santa still remembers.

The night will come: the mechanics of a symphony of horror “Dracula” is not simply new design of Joker watch. Working hard to be ready for this year Halloween Konstantin Chaykin decided to develop new Caliber К.18-7 Dracula, equipped with more complicated version of the original indication module of Caliber K07-0, used in all models of Joker family. New movement is based on tested and proved Caliber Eta 2824-2, approved to be immaculate workhorse for Joker watches. If we regard Dracula movement as watch experts we note Dracula’s fangs – the main chord of the symphony of horror – are in fact day/night indicator, modified by Konstantin Chaykin specially for this watch.

Vampire’s fangs according to scenario start growing at night – at 22:00 – to acquire an awesome length by midnight, and hiding from 6:00 to 8:00 to be covert … until the next night will come. Indication module of Dracula watch is more complex compare to previous Joker version, it uses 16 additional parts. The dial of new Dracula watch is twice as complex as of Joker. All “mechanical monsters” models of Wristmons line are produced by Konstantin Chaykin according to strict Haute Horlogerie rules and traditions.

It means every Dracula watch demands much more attention, time and hand work even compare to Joker watches… Evidently Dracula watches will become
a nightmare for their creator. That’s why the production of Dracula Special Limited Edition Halloween-2018 will be extremely limited – Konstantin Chaykin plans to produce only 13 pieces, each in a PVD-blackened stainless steel case. Watch goes with high quality alligator strap in special execution or by order the watch may be proposed on exclusive “Dracula strap” with an elegant white bow
tie (invention of Konstantin Chaykin).

In daily life we may only imagine the dragon that gave the nickname “Dracula” to 15th-century Wallachian Prince Vlad the Impaler or the dragon on the reverse of extremely rare Hungarian royal coins minted by Prince Vlad’s father… Konstantin Chaykin gives the future owners of Dracula watch the opportunity to touch and feel the dragon engraved in relief around sapphire window on the case back… Happy Halloween!

Watch with a classical dial is truly impressive just for few times a day. Every watch with hands in dial modestly laughs at 10:10 and 13:50, and expresses moderate sadness at 15:40 and 20:20. New ‘Joker’ watch, presented by Konstantin Chaykin in BaselWorld-2017, is fitted with disk hours and minutes indicators as well as moonphase display. New ‘Joker’ obviously has non-poker face because it is highly emotional and unpredictable – every minute.

We counted that human eye will easily recognize more than twenty thousands of various grimaces, from hopelessly moody at full-moon 15:42 to flamy tongue-in-cheek at first quarter of the moon 15:48. Isn’t it amazing that Joker’s mood is manipulated by our nearest space neighbor more than any other creature? Nevertheless, most of the time Joker exhibits devil-may-care feeling, so you just want to say him “Gimme Five!”, as ‘Five of a Kind’ highest poker hand is engraved on the bezel of the watch case.

Konstantin Chaykin, the Russian watchmaker and inventor believes that it is not enough for classical mechanical clock to have just chronometric accuracy and high quality performance today. They also must bring out certain emotions and have a clearly articulated artistic message. That’s why the author of the extraordinary Joker, being a big admirer of the creativity of the internationally recognised “King of Horrors” Stephen King, timed to the release of the film adaptation of the novel “It” a new version of watches.

In the new interpretation of Konstantin Chaykin, the Joker’s face expression is still changing every minute thanks to the work of the original dual-disk current time display module (hours and minutes are pupils with a yellow iris), and the moon phase indicator is a smile (which can be set with the help of symmetrically made correction button on the left side of 42-mm steel case).

However, all the new details, from the bright-colored pupils to the red elements of the dial-“face” which harmonize with the watсhband, made of the alligator’s natural leather, remind the main mystical hero from the film of Andres Mousquetti, released in the world film distribution.

Some changes have been made to the decoration of the famous dial of the new model. The Joker Titanium dial is decorated with a relief design “guilloche” with a step, once successfully used by the great Russian jeweler Carl Faberge, the “nose” of the Joker is decorated with a unique guilloche pattern, which was designed for these watches by Konstantin Chaykin.

Meet the new Joker Titanium! Konstantin Chaykin decided to release a new limited edition Joker Titanium watch with a body made of high-tech, lightweight and durable titanium. The color of titanium parts is darker than the steel, and therefore they are perceived as more technical, brutal.

For the production of titanium parts of the Joker Titanium watch case, a special technology was developed, which allow to maintain the high standards of decorating of the Joker steel model. “Five of a Kind”, the strongest poker hand is traditionally displayed on the bezel of the case as a symbol of incredible luck.

The center of the back cover of the Joker Titanium case is engraved with the letter “J”, and the serial number of the watch in a limited series of 88 copies is engraved on the rim of the back cover.

A few changes have been made to the decoration of the famous clock face of the new model. The Joker Titanium face is decorated with a relief design “guilloche” with a step, once successfully used by the great Russian jeweler Carl Faberge, the “nose” of the Joker is decorated with a unique guilloche pattern, which was designed for these watches by Konstantin Chaykin.

Football today is more than just a game, and mechanical watches are more than just indicators of time. The Russian inventor and watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin united these two worlds with the sarcastic but quite cheerful smile of the Joker and created a collection of watches inspired by the upcoming football World Cup 2018 in Russia. Joker Soccer is a real fan. In his round, moving eyes-indicators, a soccer ball is reflected; it also replaces the moon in the moon phase indicator.

A strong player in football is called the Joker. This is usually an attacker, who is sitting on the bench for a time and takes the field in the last 20-30 minutes of the game. He is full of energy, experienced and sees the game with a fresh look. The joker can change the course of the game, emerging like his card double from the sleeve of the coach. Konstantin Chaykin believes, that it makes sense to obtain your own watch forward!

The Joker Soccer is released in 11 copies only, according to the number of football players in the team. Together with the Joker, Halloween and the Clown, the Joker-Soccer is included in the collection of Konstantin Chaykin’s Wristmons.

Movement

For the ‘Joker-Soccer’ watch Konstantin Chaykin had developed module with double-disk time indication (hours and minutes as Joker eyes) and moon-phase display (Joker’s recognizable smile).

Module has 8 jewels for friction reduction, it is mounted on tried and tested ‘workhorse’ automatic winding Caliber ETA 2824-2.

Additional fixed crown set in 9-o’clock position is fitted with recessed corrector provided for correcting the moon-phase display.