Konstantin Chaykin has dedicated a number of his latest watches to the Zodiac, in line with the Chinese New year.
In following this trend in 2021, the Russian watchmaker presents the Minotaur Special Chinese New Year, dedicated to the year of the bull.
Chaykin explained that he thought the Year of the Bull was a good reason to create a new Wristmon meaning that as 2020 drew to a close, with just a few months remaining before the start of the Chinese calendar’s Year of the Bull and the time to think about a new watch for the occasion upon him, 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.
Before working on his latest watch, the Russian had been considering the possibility of developing a new version of his Joker indication for about two years, where instead of a moonphase indicator there would be a different calendar indication.
For example, for his Mars tourbillon, in the Martian Tourbillon Only Watch 2021 Piece Unique created for the charity auction Only Watch 2021, Chaykin designed a smiling Martian date indicator.
This represents a Martian month, consisting of 28 sols, with the markings of the Martian days – sols – made up of symbols of the Martian system of counting, which was created by the master himself for this watch.
In search of inspiration for the Minotaur, he began to gather information on how his chosen theme is reflected in mythology and art, and immediately thought of the legend everyone knows from childhood – the Minotaur, the Cretan monster with a human body and bull’s head.
Chaykin says he had 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, Chaykin explains how for a watchmaker these numbers instantly bring to mind associations with the day of the week indicator.
He 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
The result of his work this year is a limited edition of 8 pieces, powered by the Caliber K.08-1 with automatic winding. A module indication produced by the Konstantin Chaykin manufacture is also included.
With a power reserve of 50 hours, the watch is 42mm in diameter and is 13mm thick.
