For Konstantin Chaykin, it is absolutely normal to create unique pieces all of the time and if the series is sold out, the watchmaker will always come up with a new authentic design that doesn’t replicate the previous limited edition.
In other words as the watchmaker himself says, the social contract between the watchmaker and those who purchase a limited edition piece will not be violated.
Mr Chaykin himself explained how “this scenario, however, has an important drawback for us, watchmaking lovers.
“As a rule, we rarely find out about those unique timepieces that have been created on commission and remain in private collections, without the public being aware of them. Only later, if we are lucky, do the unique models reach the Christie’s or Sotheby’s or other auction houses.”
The watch I’d like to talk about here is a different matter, says Mr Chaykin.
The Joker XXX project, started by the Zurich-based auction house named Ineichen Auctioneers, offers the opportunity to meet the creations of the three resourceful individuals.
Firstly, the independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin, who created a unique Joker watch for the project.
Secondly, the Russian designer Aleksandr Markovsky tuned a Porsche 911 sports car for this project.
And finally, the blockchain specialist and digital artist Olexander Nyezhnyk from Ukraine created an NFT-picture for the project, which is both an NFT-token and a special engraving of the Joker XXX Unique Piece wristwatch back cover.
It was 2017 when at the former Baselworld exhibition, the unknown independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin presented the Joker, his first model with a dial resembling the face of this character.
It was a shock. Everyone who attended the event knew about that watch, even though Chaykin did not spend to advertise it.
If you take a closer look at the watch to determine the time, you’ll notice that the watch looks at you with such a genuine wide smile. The Joker as a character suits well and to give you a better idea, let’s imagine, for example, an emotional connection to a Rolex watch.
You have a Rolex watch on your hand, you look at it to determine the time, you see the hands as well as of course, the five-branched crown.
That is Rolex, but all it takes with Chaykin’s Joker watch is a fleeting glance.
That very first stainless steel Joker, released in a limited edition of 99 pieces, has long been sold out since that memorable Baselworld-2017.
Since then, Chaykin has done little to exploit the popularity of these watches, instead, he decided to focus on creating new characters for the Wristmons collection, which included the Joker watch and other fancy watches that followed.
He also invented many wonderful mechanical things for the bright dial-faces of the Wristmons. For example, the sinister “Dracula time” indicator in the form of vampire fangs appearing at night and disappearing in the morning for his Dracula wristmon, or an absolutely breathtaking Martian tourbillon with a Martian time, date, and weekday indicators.
Frankly speaking, the impression was that Chaykin was bored to return to his old inventions. Since then there have been few Joker watches available. It’s not like the Joker XXX Unique Piece solves this problem – it’s only a single piece after all.
Nevertheless, this watch shows how creative a watchmaker can become when he is truly inspired.
Time indicators are both frightening and insanely attractive here, and draws comparisons with Italian literature.
Two red stripes are responsible for time indication – like radar beams, they relentlessly scan the time.
The emotional reaction that the black eyes evoke is empowered by the blackened chapter rings and the PVD-coated blackened steel case.
Although, it would be good to see what a watch with a steel or titanium case might look like.
The back cover, which hides the K.07-0 Chaykin calibre, based on the automatic Eta 2824, is also blackened and features an NFT picture of a joker-car drifting through Gotham City at night on the center pendant.
Information about Joker XXX auction can be found here: https://ineichen.com/auctions/special-5/
