The fact that the world of independent watchmaking is full of surprises is common knowledge. Independent watchmakers almost compete each other by designing and creating the most sophisticated, advanced and complex movements to amaze, during the various fairs and exhibitions, an increasingly nourished and interested audience.
Konstantin Chaykin certainly is a pivotal character in this branch of the vast world of watchmaking, being in fact the only Russian watchmaker that have been admitted to the Acadèmie Horologère des Crèateurs Indèpendants (AHCI) in 2010 becoming then President in 2017.
One of his most famous creations is the Joker, a watch that has been widely talked-about because of the strong visual impact at first glance, a kind of initial disorientation since it has no hands and, if not explained, will take a few minutes (compared to a classic watch) to figure out how to interpret it.
Beyond technical evaluations, what surprises the most is the philosophy of this timepiece.
According to Chaykin, traditional dials become, the more you observe them, less and less interesting and appealing to the wearer, for a simple matter of habit.
With the Joker, on the other hand, he tried to create a watch capable of always being a source of joy and amazement for the observer, at any time of the day.
The combination of the eyes (the counters of hours and minutes) and the tongue (moon phases) brings “life” to the dial making sure that, thanks to their movement, the face represented constantly changes in expression.
It is therefore easy to understand why this timepiece will never tire the observer: even if you check the time several times during the day, you’ll always find a different dial, capable of generating different emotions in your head, since the human mind can recognize more than twenty thousand different facial expressions.
The basic JOKER
K07-0 is the automatic caliber that moves the Joker. It is an ETA 2824-2 based with an additional module developed and produced by Chaykin to allow double discs for hours and minutes indication and moon phase to be added.
The 42mm steel case housing features a bezel that’s been decorated with the four suits of playing cards and a “J” at 12 o’clock.
Different types of guillochè decoration adorn the dial which is protected by an anti-reflective sapphire glass that also protects the movement on the back, making it visible.
The two crowns are used to adjust respectively the minute disc and hour disc, at 3 o’clock. A fixed crown at 9 o’clock allows you to adjust the moon phase, represented by a large mouth-shaped window at 6 o’clock. Production was a limited edition of 99 pieces.
To date, four different versions of the Joker have been produced, which share the same philosophy but change in materials or operation. This is a witness of the watchmaker’s creativity not only in creating such a piece, but also knowing how to rearrange it in many ways.
JOKER TITANIUM
Limited to 88 pieces, it features a 42 mm titanium case without exhibition case back but with a large “J” engraved in the center.
While movement and operation are the same as the steel Joker, a few minor decorative changes have been made to the dial. These consist mainly in a change in the guillochè pattern of both the face and nose
JOKER SOCCER
Created for the 2018 World Cup, this limited edition of the Joker celebrates the Russian national football team with only 11 examples (like the number of players).
This time, the traditional 42mm case comes in bronze and with the word “SOCCER” engraved on the bezel, instead of card suits.
The guillochè pattern that decorates the various parts of the dial is kept. A changing is in the nose and face colors, becoming red, light blue and gold.
The indicators of the hours, minutes, and moon phase, on the other hand, are turn into soccer balls to immediately reveal the sporting (and fiercely national) spirit of this funny watch.
JOKER AUTOMATON
Perhaps, this is the most particular and “different” version of the Joker series.
It is in fact a collaboration between Constantin Chaykin and Andersen Genève, universally recognized as one of the undisputed masters of automatons. Capable of creating incredibly complicated pieces, his most famous creation certainly is the Eros collection. We can’t forget how he managed to create the watch with the smallest calendar in the world, or the “Mundus”, the thinnest watch in the world, entering the Guinness Book of Records.
On the dial, the classic Joker face is the main protagonist. It is brightened by a beautiful guillochè pattern that decorates the white background. The red moon phase mouth and the two grey hours and minutes discs stand out from it amazingly.
On the back, an automaton completely created by Andersen Genève depicts the famous dog playing poker with the Joker and two characters.
Pressing the 8 o’clock button the scene comes into motion for about two minutes. You can then see how the Joker, winning, looks at the dog while the woman is stealing chips.
CLOWN
The latest version, winner of the Audacity Award at GPHG, is similar to the classic Joker in almost everything, from the 42mm metal case to operation.
What changes, in addition to the “Clown” engraved bezel -instead of cards suits- is the decoration of the dial.
The red features standing on the white background, the marked pupils, the alligator strap with red stitching that recalls the details from the face. All is trying to remember to the viewer the famous character from Andres Mousquetti’s film.
It was produced in a limited series of 27 pieces.
JOKER HALLOWEEN
The 42mm bronze case encloses a “carved” pumpkin in full Halloween style, with tones reminiscent of the orange in pumpkin rind and the softer beige of the interior.
The triangular eyes and the “toothless” moon phase mouth, just as the pumpkins carved during the period around the 31st of October, manage to make about 20,000 different facial expressions. It’s the first example of how Chaykin also engages in “scary” themes, which are very much in line with the essence of the Joker.
JOKER ARAB WATCH CLUB EDITION
Developed in early 2018 and delivered to the 20 lucky owners a few months ago, this Joker is a limited edition of 20 watches dedicated to the “Arab Watch Club” club and designed under specific requests from the members themselves.
The 42mm steel case is black PVD-coated. The back is closed and features the “Arab Watch Club” engraving as well as numbering and initials of the owner, while the bezel remains untouched with cards suits engraved on it.
Pure Joker style dial suddenly changes in color, turning black, with green and a hint of white. SuperLuminova was used for the pupils that feature (of course) arabic numerals, being hours and minutes discs.
JOKER SELFIE
In this case we no longer are talking about a limited edition. This new Joker is a one-off made for the OnlyWatch auction that’ll be held this November in Geneva. (Find an article about the auction here)
Although you may not think so, Chaykin considers this watch to be a portrait of him. This is the reason that gives the timepiece its name. In fact, the color of the eyes changes, to make them similar to those of the master, and so will the engraving on the bezel. No more Joker, but “Selfie”.
If you pay attention, in fact, the hour disc features a watchmaker’s magnifying lens. This feature allows us to put the watch vertically and see the eye closing, hiding the hours.
And it’s by putting the watch vertically, however, that you open the window at 12 o’clock that tells the day of the week. Once the clock returns to the horizontal position, the day window closes and the hour window reopens.
The steel case is the classic 42mm with double crown, the back is open and shows a new automatic caliber cal. K21.0, developed from the Soviet 2809 caliber produced by Tschistopolsky.
We won’t exactly know the actual value of this piece until November 9th, the auction day, but it’s believed to sell in a range from 16 to 22.000€.
JOKER DRACULA
At first glance it looks like another special edition of the Joker but, taking a deeper look and studying its details, we can see how with this Dracula Chaykin has gone even further.
The case is the one we are used to, 42mm in burnished steel, black, classic engraved bezel with the model’s name, eyes that tell hours and minutes and moon phases displayed by the mouth.
However, looking in the right spots, we discover an intricated detail: the two very pronounced canines that come out of the upper lip.
They are the day and night indicators, appearing shortly after 10:00 pm and then retracting to make Dracula’s face less evil around 6.00 am.
This complication required the development of another module to integrate it, which is why the automatic caliber cal.K.18-7 is based on an ETA 2824-2 and is twice as complicated as the “basic” Joker’s movement.
This edition was presented at Halloween 2018, limited to 13 pieces with a price of 18.970 €.
THE REASSESSMENT RECORD
As previously said, the Joker surely is one of the most popular watches by Chaykin and in the entire world of independent watchmaking.
We are now used to seeing how prices of the most famous watches follow complex patterns that are unknown to most. Immediate reassessments. New watches reselling at even double the list price. Endless waiting lists and actual inability to find certain watches in line with sales prices. These are only a few of the phenomena happening.
However, these dynamics normally apply to some sports Rolex, AP, Patek Philippe and a few other exceptions.
It’s very curious to note that, at the moment, Konstantin Chaykin’s basic Joker is being sold on main reselling channels at least twice what was its original list price. (Which was around6800 €)
It is certainly a record and a sign of great appreciation, but it must make us think.
Will independent brands also start adopting production/distribution policies to increase the hype around their products?
Would it make sense not to make any more easily available to anyone (that can afford) a watch from an independent brand for just wanting to make the brand more exclusive? Or is it an isolated case that is due to other factors? We’ll see that in the future, for the moment let’s just enjoy Chaykin’s geniality.
Translated by Lorenzo Spolaor (@lorenzospolaor)
Pictures by Vincenzo Finizola (@vfphotograf)
