Konstantin Chaykin has hedged its bets on black with its news Joker Black Bet watch.
The Russian watchmaker has complemented the adventurous character of his Joker, a lucky symbol in card games, with the gambling spirit of roulette as part of the design of the piece.
Commenting on two sides to the colour black as part of the launch, he refers to the COVID pandemic as a black swan for business.
He continued: “And yet, is it worth seeing the colour black as something negative?”
“Yes, in the mass consciousness black is associated with darkness, evil, witchcraft… But it is also seen as a respectable, sophisticated, elegant colour. Black humour. Black metal. “Men in Black”. And I’m also aware that Malevich’s ‘Black Square’ is a world-famous symbol of avant-garde art.”
“The ‘Joker’ watch and other Wristmons are seen as one of the avant-garde symbols of watchmaking, and I’m sure they will give the colour black a touch of excitement, courage and luck – sure to be useful when the shadow of a ‘black swan’ falls over the whole of civilization.”
The answer to that question was the release of a new member of the Joker family.
This watch, first presented by Konstantin Chaykin in 2017 at the Basel exhibition, caused a stir and was recognised as one of the most spectacular and outstanding premieres of the time.
The first steel Joker instantly sold out, with Konstantin Chaykin afterwards careful to avoid exploiting the opportunities presented by the popularity of that model and only releasing new versions as often as he thought necessary.
The Joker Black Bet watch is released in a limited edition of 18 pieces, each labelled with a unique number following the sequence 15-4-2-17-6-13-11-8-10-24-33-20-31-22-29-28-35-26 – the order of the black numbers on a roulette wheel.
The number of each piece in the limited-edition series is marked with a ‘ball’, located in the corresponding sector, meaning each piece in the series can be considered unique.
