Loading...The Konstantin Chaykin “Joker” watch was possibly one of the most amazing watches of Baselworld 2017. You may wonder why?
It is running on an ETA base caliber with a module that Konstantin created. So not an inhouse movement.
It is a funny and funky looking timepiece which definately polarizes, people either love it or hate it. So why may I think it belongs to the most amazing timepieces presented this Baselworld?
Let me start with the current state of the Swiss and even international haute horlogerie. Again in 2017, sales of mechanical luxury watches have dropped sharply.
For more information, you can check this site.
While the general sentiment in the watchindustry is not necessarily positive, I could still sense a positive attitude at Baselworld. Overall, everybody was upbeat, excited, and enjoying a good time with great watches, beautiful ladies and parties and wine. So Konstantin presented a watch that possesses a “smile”. The smiling joker face. It was a smile that exudes a positive attitude, and maybe it is the kind of smile you put on when things go bad. Or start to turn around. But keep smiling no matter what is happening, stay positive, and that is exactly what this watch does. It reflects a positive view on things in life, an upbeat attitude towards life. And that is exactly why I love this timepiece so much.
When I finally saw it live, I was so excited that I forgot to take a wristshow, and I know how bad people would like to see one. But the case sat well on the wrist, the watch is not too large with 42mm. It builds quite high due to the added module, but still fine. But most of all, when you look at the face of this watch, you smile. It will be limited to 99 pieces, so not sure how long it will last.
Now to the second piece which Konstantin presented, and this one is already sold he told me for an undisclosed amount of money, I asked him how much, and both Konstantin and his sister laughed at me. When I asked if it was about a million bucks, they smiled and I interpreted their smile as a yes or a about yes.
So here it goes, the most complicated desk clock at Baselworld 2017. The Kremlin with 4 dials, 26 functions, and just an overall amazing clock. The whole building of the Kremlin is covered with precious stones, and the stones setting alone must have taken ages. Konstantin told me that it took over 2 years to build, and he already had parts of it developed before then which helped him to shorten it to about 2 years.
The new owner is a lucky man, a lucky Russian man.
Take a look at the pictures and enjoy.
Here you have an overview on all the functions of this clock. I need to upload a fourth picture later on.
