Konstantin Chaykin doesn’t match neatly into any field, although at first look, you may assume in any other case. His silver-streaked hair and skinny wire-framed glasses counsel a person rooted in custom, the sort you’d anticipate finding hunched over a workbench, crafting intricate mechanisms. And also you’d be proper—partly. However what lies beneath is a person whose playful creativeness gave life to items just like the Carpe Diem—a timepiece depicting Chronos, the Greek god (who birthed time) holding a practical hourglass built-in into its dial, to a Minion-themed titanium watch priced at almost SGD30,000.
I had the privilege of exchanging a couple of phrases with Chaykin at IAMWATCH, a bustling watch honest which introduced collectively watchmakers, collectors, and lovers alike. Right here, he shared extra concerning the launch of his new creation, the ThinKing—a watch measuring a mere 1.65mm in thickness. To place that into perspective, that is the thinnest mechanical watch in existence. If that doesn’t blow your thoughts, think about the extent of ingenuity required for an impartial watchmaker to not solely craft such a marvel, however out-thin(ok) the colossal watchmaking homes.
The ThinKing borrows from Chaykin’s acclaimed “Wristmon” sequence, recognized for his or her humanlike attraction. Two “eyes” on the face of the watch—fashioned by hour and minute shows—are framed by a metal case engraved with the model’s signature to kind a smile. As a substitute of sandwiching the Ok.23-0 motion—a manually wound calibre providing as much as 32 hours of energy reserve — between two metal surfaces, the motion is woven immediately into the case to maximise thinness. Each element, from the Swiss lever escapement to the ultra-thin winding barrel and double stability system with a geared clutch all work collectively in the direction of a singular fact: create the thinnest rattling watch potential.
However engineering such thinness comes with its personal set of challenges. Chaykin needed to design a patented strap, crafted from alligator leather-based with elastic inserts and titanium helps, to handle the inevitable twisting and stress of damage. The outcome? Not solely the world’s thinnest watch, but additionally one of many lightest.
To step into a hoop dominated by giants like Bvlgari and Richard Mille takes audacity—or insanity. Maybe each. What sort of individual willingly takes on such a problem? Does Chaykin ever dream up concepts so absurd that even he hesitates? These questions swirled in my thoughts as I delved deeper into his story.
“Too loopy? No.” Chaykin stated with a slight shrug after I lastly requested him. “I’ve had plenty of challenges in my life. From the beginning, my watchmaking path has been a difficult technique—nearly loopy. For those who verify my timepieces, from the primary to the final, I attempt to not create traditional watches. I all the time discover some loopy problem for myself, for my soul, as a result of life shouldn’t be boring.”
The Whimsical
This spirit of caprice and daring may be ambiguously used to sum up Chaykin’s work, significantly in his pursuit of the absurd by means of the “Wristmon” sequence. Take the Minions Titanium watch, for example, which options “eyes” for hour and minute shows. However right here, the phases of the moon kind the mischievous smile of a minion, whereas the pupils and tongue shift with time, lending the timepiece nearly a character of its personal. It might come to you as a shock, however there aren’t really tiny minions working round beneath the dial rotating gears and the lot. As a substitute, the in-house Ok.18-15 automated calibre retains all the pieces working easily, providing a 42-hour energy reserve.
Though the world could primarily consider Chaykin because the creator of the “Wristmon” sequence attributable to all of the acclaim he has obtained due to it, that isn’t how he views himself. Removed from it.
“I see myself extra as an artist than something,” he says. It’s a perspective that explains his refusal to be confined by the standard boundaries of watchmaking. For those who research the work of nice artists all through historical past, you’ll see they weren’t outlined by a single assortment or work. Their legacy as an entire is an evolution. That is what Chaykin envisions for himself — lengthy after his loupes have magnified its final stability wheel.
The Classical
One piece we really feel encapsulates this dynamic significantly nicely is The Cinema. Look no additional than its rectangular body, classic typography carved into silver dials, and a mesmerising Clous de Paris guilloché end adorning the dial. It’s as its identify suggests—a watch impressed by cinema. However what sits at 6 o’clock is its defining function. A disc with 12 frames depicts a galloping horse, creating the phantasm of movement—an ode to the first-ever movement image of a horse and its rider in 1873. The in-house KCM-01-0 motion works extra time to energy not solely the timekeeping aspect of issues, but additionally the animation sequence. All that is housed inside a 37mm x 47mm metal case, solely 12mm thick. Regardless of the brilliance of this idea, Chaykin has but to show it into a group, greater than 10 years since its inception.
For a person like Konstantin Chaykin, the concept of strictly sticking to a model’s borders is boring. “It is perhaps good for enterprise since many individuals choose that form of consistency—DNA is nice for enterprise. However not for creativity, not for me.” And that, maybe, is the center of Chaykin’s philosophy. An artist trapped within the physique of a watchmaker, the place the watches he crafts are usually not simply devices of time, however manifestations of his stressed creativity.
This text was first seen on Esquire Singapore.
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