Despite its monochromatic appearance, its pareidolic “face” cannot help but elicit a smile (All photos: Konstantin Chaykin)
A new player has just joined the race of making the slimmest watch on the planet — it is as if the horology world have collectively decided that luxury is not just about what is on your wrist, but what you can barely feel. In case you didn’t know, Geneva Watch Days started yesterday and the fair already had its first surprise: Russian independent brand Konstantin Chaykin shared a prototype model called the ThinKing and it is merely 1.65mm thick, making it the new world’s thinnest mechanical watch.
If you have stopped following this close battle of "thin is more", here is a refresher: Piaget introduced the 2mm Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon in 2018; Richard Mille upped it with the RMUP-01 at an incredulous 1.75mm in 2021, and Bvlgari best them all with the 1.7mm Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC, launched this year.
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Although the ThinKing is, technically, just a working prototype, the concept watch is ready to be presented to the world nonetheless. Made from a special alloy of stainless steel that is extra hard, the timepiece sports a case made in two parts: the caseback, which also serves as the movement’s mainplate; and the upper cover as the dial. Only the two subdials or hours and minutes have sapphire crystals.
Konstantin Chaykin has intended for this ultra-thin creation to be a Wristmon from the get-go. For the unfamiliar, the Wristmon is an appellation simliar to Pokémon, meaning wrist-monsters, because they each feature a character’s face with subdials forming the eyes and traditionally, a moonphase forming the mouth. Chaykin was convinced that another brand would supersede it to take over the “world’s thinnest watch” title but by making it a Wristmon, the ThinKing will remain a fun watch even if it gets dethroned.
ThinKing is modelled along the lines of a joker-indication visual (the best-known Wristmon is likely Konstantin Ckaykin's delightful "Joker" series), which separates the hour (left) and minute (right) displays. Additionally, Konstantin Chaykin invented a very thin mainspring barrel for the watch and created a beautiful design with a pawl and spring built into the barrel-arbor, eliminating the need for any type of cover.
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The movement is split into two, with Calibre K.23-0 powering the main case, and Calibre K.23-1 housed in the PalanKing carrier case. Offering a power reserve of 32 hours, the main movement is constructed out of 204 components, including 51 jewels. ThinKing is also the first of the recent world-record thin watches to feature a double balance wheel, which is a Chaykin signature mechanism. There is still no word on accuracy and friction levels generated by the balance wheel, but we do know it comes on a black alligator leather strap with elastic inserts, flexible titanium supports and a stainless steel pin buckle.
In an interview with Options earlier this year, Bvlgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin said that the brand is not creating thin tickers just for the sake of breaking records. We shall see if the watchmaker, which has garnered accolade after accolade, from the thinnest tourbillon and self-winding watch, to the thinnest tourbillon chorograph and perpetual calendar, can resist raising the bar after this.
