Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Prototype 2 Piece Unique
ThinKing, the Konstantin Chaykin's new ultra-thin mechanical wrist watch.
In the history of watchmaking, there have been several periods in which watchmakers have been seriously engaged in radically reducing the thickness of watch movements and thus also of watches we call this the race for the thinnest watches. We are witnessing a race that continues to this day. It was initiated by the Piaget brand, which unveiled the Altiplano Ultimate Concept prototype watch in 2018 with a case which was an incredible 2 mm thick at the time. The commercial release of this model began in 2020 and was then the thinnest wristwatch in the world, one of the most impressive feats in watchmaking history. It seemed that this was the final sprint in this race, but in March 2022 Bulgari was able to surpass this achievement and presented the Octo Finissimo Ultra watch with a case thickness of 1.8 mm, developed in collaboration with the Concepto movement factory. However, this record did not stand: Just a few months later, in June of the same year, Richard Mille announced the RM UP 01 Ferrari, which has since become the thinnest wristwatch in the world. It is 1.75 mm thick and was developed by the AP Renaud & Papi complication factory.
A further reduction in the thickness of mechanical watches seems unlikely, but earlier this year several leading online resources published articles discussing the results of the ultra-thin watch race, suggesting that Richard Mille s record would soon be broken. Of the three participants in the race, Piaget, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, was named as the main contender. It was to be expected that this brand would try to recapture the laurels of the world record holder in its anniversary year. And it did, albeit not in the category of absolute records, but in the category of tourbillon wristwatches. In spring 2024, Piaget presented the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon with a 2 mm case, which has since become the thinnest wristwatch with a tourbillon in the world. Nevertheless, the record in the absolute category did not stand in 2024. We have the team at Bulgari and the Concepto factory to thank for this: they reduced the previous record held by Richard Mille and AP Renaud & Papi by a further 0.05 mm. In addition, the Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC watch received a chronometer certificate together with the 1.70 mm thick case: it is now also the thinnest COSC certified chronometer in the world.
But hardly anyone could have imagined that a new player would enter the race in 2024 the independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin.
1.65 mm
This is a rare case where a number is sufficient for the heading. 1.65 mm that is the thickness of the new ultra-thin mechanical wristwatch ThinKing, conceived and developed by Konstantin Chaykin.
The story of this development began a long time ago: one fine day, around twenty years ago, Konstantin Chaykin came across an old ultra-thin Bagnolet pocket watch caliber with cylinder escapement, signed Aug. Golay Leresche à Genève and dating from the mid 19th century. "This movement is about one millimeter thick, not counting the height of the hour and center wheels. I held it in my hands and they offered to buy it. Now I regret that I didn't say yes, because the movement was made almost two hundred years a go given the development of watchmaking technology at that time, that really is an achievement for a watchmaker."
If such an outstanding example of watchmaking craft was created almost two centuries ago, why shouldn't a modern watchmaker, armed with the advantages of modern technology, try to create something similar? At the time, this logical thought did not inspire Konstantin Chaykin, a budding independent watchmaker, to create an ultra-thin watch as he was busy with other projects. Today, however, he admits that he still lacked the experience and knowledge of materials to complete the development at an appropriate level.
This project, like many others in Chaykin's career, came about by chance: "This story began when I once showed a client a project of my super complicated wristwatch. He replied that of course it was all very cool, but there were probably more difficult tasks, such as: Can I make an ultra-thin watch? Thinner than Richard Mille did. I had been interested in ultra-thin movements for a long time and said I would think about it. That was in 2023. Of course, I had already looked into this subject before, in particular I knew the masterpieces by Piaget, Bulgari and Richard Mille, but I hadn't looked into it any further. When I was confronted with this task, I started to take a closer look at what it actually is the ultra-thin watch. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was Auguste Golay's millimeter thick movement sometimes moments from the past suddenly become relevant again. As for my current ultra-thin watch project, I initially considered many possibilities and dedicated an entire Moleskine to finding technical solutions."
Definitely a wristmon
First of all, Konstantin Chaykin decided that his ultra thin watch would definitely be a wristmon. He assumed that Swiss watchmakers would most likely continue to propose new ultra-thin watches , and in this situation he always has the advantage of a unique design known to the entire community of watch connoisseurs around the world. He was also attracted by the idea of giving such a purely technical project as an ultra-thin watch a direct emotional coloring and this is precisely the undeniable advantage of the Wristmons collection he created.
For this reason, the movement of the ThinKing watch is modeled along the lines of a joker indication design, i.e. with separate hour (left) and minute (right) displays, which form the eyes of the character. While in the original Joker watch and many other wristmons the smile of the character is the moonphase turned upside down compared to the standard configuration, in the new ultra-thin ThinKing watch the role of the smile is taken over by the brand logo engraved along the arc on the top cover of the watch due to the absence of such a display. Thus, the ThinKing, the new ultra-thin model in the Wristmons collection, has received a double dial protected by two 0.35 mm thick sapphire crystals, instead of the usual full dial, which worsens the situation with the rigidity of the ultra-thin watch.
The practicality of the ultra thin watch
The master devoted his greatest attention to another problem: how to make an ultra-thin watch, less than two millimeters thick, practical and comfortable The solution was unexpected and unprecedented: an external carrier case PalanKing equipped with mechanisms needed to wind the ultra-thin watch and adjust the hands. In addition, the external case PalanKing is equipped with an automatic winding system that is attached to the ultra-thin watch when it is placed in the external carrier case. In this way, the ultra-thin watch is wound automatically and the owner only has to hold the external case with the ultra-thin watch on the wrist. Konstantin Chaykin sees this idea as a further development of the concept of the symbiotic watch and clock concept by Abraham Louis Breguet (Pendule Sympathique), but with one crucial difference: Breguet's symbiotic design winds the pocket watch inside the clock and adjusts its hands at night when the pocket watch can not be in use, whereas Chaykin's symbiotic watch system works when it is worn on the wrist. Of course, the watch also remains very attractive in its outer casing. The external case design, also created by Konstantin Chaykin, makes for a comfortable wearing experience, and the watch looks stunning in its outer case. Like every other wristmon from Chaykin.
In addition, the external carrier case PalanKing of the ThinKing watch, based on the idea of Konstantin Chaykin, will help solve perhaps the biggest problem of ultra-thin watches the low rigidity of their case. Of course, watchmakers working with ultra-thin watches solve this problem in one way or another. Two main methods are used. The first is the use of particularly strong materials according to Konstantin Chaykin, the best material available for this purpose is tungsten carbide. Secondly, stiffening ribs are provided in the construction of the case and movement. However, these are formed almost automatically when the caseback of the watch is used as the plate of the movement and the appropriate recesses are milled into the plate to accommodate the necessary components. This has been a standard solution for super-thin watches since the time of Swiss watchmaker Philippe-Samuel Meylan, who invented such a design in the 1830s or 1840s.
Konstantin Chaykin used both methods in the development of the ThinKing watch. In particular, he uses a special stainless steel with a very high rigidity as the base material, which has which is best suited to an ultra-thin watch. Additional protection, albeit indirect, is provided by the strap, which was specially developed for this watch.
Nevertheless, Konstantin Chaykin believes that the external carrier case he has developed provides a useful guarantee that ultra-thin watch he developed will serve its owner for a long time, while he will always have the opportunity to enjoy the ultra-thin wristmon on his wrist. In all circumstances that can be dangerous for an ultra-thin watch, Konstantin Chaykin recommends the use of the external case, especially since the ThinKing watch in an external carrier and protective case with a thickness of only 5.4 mm, on which the ThinKing watch is placed, falls into the category of ultra-thin watches.
The development of an ultra-thin wristwatch is impossible without inventing it
When it came to the technical aspects of the project, Konstantin Chaykin relied on the information he had gained from a thorough study of other watchmakers experiences this helped him to identify problems before the design phase and find his own solutions. There were some groundbreaking solutions: Based on the results of the development, Konstantin Chaykin applied for three patents describing the designs of an ultra-thin winding barrel a double balance wheel, and what a surprise! special strap for an ultra-thin watch. The first two technical units were crucial in reducing the thickness of the ThinKing watch, while the third invention makes it possible to make the use of the ultra-thin watch safer for the watch itself.
However, the invention of the ultra-thin wristwatch was by no means limited to this. "My original task was to design the entire movement mainly in one, two or at most three levels, no more. To be honest, this task didn't cause me any major problems. On the contrary, it was a pleasure to put it together like a puzzle. As with any good puzzle, I had to tinker, look for non trivial solutions, choose the best options and calculate the energy flows," Chaykin recalls. The entire gear system, including the motion work, is built on two levels. Of course, there are two more levels the mainplate and the bridges. Thanks to Chaykin's invention, the winding barrel is actually made on one level, although it takes up all the available space under its bridge the energy stored in it must be maximized.
Ultra-thin winding barrel
The classic design of the winding barrel is rarely analyzed from the point of view of reducing the thickness of this part of the movement. Konstantin Chaykin invented a very thin mainspring barrel for the ThinKing watch and at the same time created an unexpectedly beautiful design with a pawl and spring built into the barrel-arbor: "After studying the excellent design of the Richard Mille RM UP 01, I realized that it was possible to completely dispense with the ratchet wheel and the cover of the mainspring barrel. The result is our masterpiece: the mainspring barrel has no covers, and at the same time everything functions stably. The winding mechanism with pawl and flat spring is integrated into the barrel arbor , making it possible to accommodate a good mainspring in a phenomenally thin volume. For the mainspring barrel, we ground down a mainspring that we had in stock to the required thickness and thus achieved a power reserve of 32 hours, which is quite a reasonable level for a self winding watch."
Double balance
The double balance is one of Chaykin's ingenious inventions. While there are precedents for the use of double balances connected by teeth on the edge, never before has such a design been used in an ultra-thin watch. As with all things ingenious, the idea is simple. One of the problems in designing an ultra-thin movement is to avoid multi-level structures. Ideally, only two levels should be used, as the gearing of the watch requires wheels that mesh with pinions. So it should have two levels, less is basically impossible. "The gear train of the ThinKing watch is built on only two levels, the mainplate of the movement is the caseback, the wheels are mounted under the bridges as usual. I did not experiment with mounting the wheels on ball bearings without bridges, as was the case with the ultra-thin movements developed by Swiss watchmaker Pierre Mathys for the Jean Lassale brand in the 1970s, because such a construction, based on the practical application of his calibers, proved not to be reliable enough all the brands that initially wanted to experiment with it gave up."
The balance wheel unit is multi-level, because it has a balance rim - that's one level, a hairspring - that's the second level, and in a Swiss lever escapement there are two more levels - an impulse jewel and a safety device, the so-called dart, which makes a total of four levels if you don't count the mainplate and the bridges, as usual. Konstantin Chaykin, who uses a double balance wheel, omits one level by distributing the functions over two balance wheels. The first balance works together with the lever, and the hairspring is installed on the second balance - this is the core of Konstantin Chaykin's invention. At the same time, the levels of the impulse jewel and the safety device can be brought as close together as possible, as there are no moving parts.
The special strap for an ultra thin watch
Konstantin Chaykin has once again proven his ability to invent straps for his watches, which is rare in the industry. The strap of ThinKing watch is not purely decorative, which has been the focus of the straps he has designed for some of his wristmons. This is a very special strap. Its peculiarity is that it transfers unwanted stress from the case to a pair of flexible titanium supports and two elastic inserts sewn inside the strap. If a force occurs that could be dangerous for the watch - shocks, bending, etc. - a small part of this force is transferred to the case, while most of it is absorbed by the elastic elements of the strap.
Special stainless steel, special carrier case-PalanKing
Konstantin Chaykin believes that the main problem in the development of ultra-thin watches is the materials: "The problems arose when I began to solve a number of other important issues. The first of these was the question of rigidity. From the beginning, I wanted to make the watch a tenth of a millimeter thinner than the Richard Mille watch, which means my goal was 1.65 mm. We designed a case with a special geometry that has a labyrinthine structure inside and a minimum caseback thickness of 0.3 mm, and then tested the project with a program that calculates deformations. We examined the stiffness and deformation of the watch case under various loads. It turned out that tungsten carbide naturally showed the best performance among the more or less common materials under a moment load of up to 30 kg. However, it is quite possible that the use of sapphire or diamond will give better results. I am considering this possibility, but it seems difficult to realize because the technology to process these materials is lacking. Unfortunately. Nevertheless, we decided to build prototypes to test the design with conventional metals. I initially built two models. The first model, ThinKing Prototype 1, is made of annealed brass a very stable material. This allowed me to literally feel the ultra-thin watch of my own design with my own hands and test all parts of the design. The case of the second model, ThinKing Prototype 2, which is very close to the finished watch, is made of special stainless steel. In my opinion, this is a very good solution because this material offers a sufficient degree of hardness without which it makes no sense to make an ultra-thin watch."
The ThinKing
Prototype 2 watch is therefore made of a special stainless steel whose hardness is sufficient to allow the watch to be worn like a normal watch. By using this material, the risk of it being accidentally damaged when the case is bent is minimal. To further reduce this risk, Konstantin Chaykin played it safe and developed a special leather strap with elastic inserts and flexible titanium supports. These limit the additional bending force that can, for example, unintentionally act on the watch during use.
The ThinKing Prototype 2 watch case consists of two parts. Technically, it is a monocoque with a monolithic caseband and caseback, while its lower part is used as part of the movement it takes over the function of the mainplate. The upper cover of the watch case is solid, which also contributes to increased strength. The time is displayed on two separate dials this is an obligatory design feature of every wristmon, and in the ThinKing Prototype 2 watch it allows to minimize the area of the crystals. Each of the two crystals is 0.35 mm thick and has a diameter of 10.4 mm.
Additional protection for the ThinKing Prototype 2 watch is provided by the external case carrier specially developed for it by Konstantin Chaykin. In addition to the purely mechanical protection of the ultra-thin watch inside, it also offers easy handling. The lack of practicality and convenience is one of the most common problems with ultra-thin watches. Their designers suggest using either a special key or a winding crown in the form of an elongated crossbar or two separate flat wheels for winding and adjusting the hands. All this is anything but practical. That's why Konstantin Chaykin decided to offer a really useful solution an external case carrier that fulfills both functions and makes using the ThinKing watch very convenient.
Unplanned bonus
Although Konstantin Chaykin did not set himself such a task, together with the development of an ultra-thin design, he has succeeded in creating an ultra-light watch, one of the lightest watches in the world: the weight of the ThinKing watch is only 13.3 grams without the strap.
To Geneva!
In spring 2024, many pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Konstantin Chaykin began manufacturing the second working prototype, which is an incredible 1.65 mm thick. A happy ending to this story was in sight. However, one important question remained unanswered: What name should he give his ultra-thin watch?
This development was terra incognita for Konstantin Chaykin. He had to think a lot and analyze all the available information, so it took him more than six months to find the necessary technical solutions. The watch was literally born in the master's head. Why not give it a suitable name? At some point it dawned on him: ThinKing. The pleasant ambiguity of such a name allows it to be perceived as both “The Watch Born of Thought” and “The King of Thin Watches”.
To present his King of Thin Watches for the first time, Konstantin Chaykin decided to travel to Geneva. This decision seems quite logical, as this city was home to outstanding masters of thin and ultra-thin watches, including Auguste Golay, whose outstanding ultra-thin movement attracted the attention of Konstantin Chaykin at the beginning of his career. The ThinKing Prototype 2 ultra-thin watch will be presented for the first time at the Geneva Watch Days exhibition, which will take place in Geneva from August 29 to September 2, 2024.
Will this be the end of the story of Konstantin Chaykin's ultra-thin watch? He himself believes that he has not yet realized all the advantages of the design he has created and that there are still some technical aspects that he would like to optimize. The answer is actually already in the name of the watch yes, it is a working prototype, but Konstantin Chaykin believes that the watch is not yet ready to go into series production. He also has a few aces in reserve that could make this project even more exciting. Time will tell.
Technical specifications
Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Prototype 2
Piece Unique
Case
- Material: Stainless steel
- Diameter: 40 mm
- Thickness: 1.65 mm
- Two sapphire crystals diameter 10.4 mm, thickness 0.35 mm
- Weight of the watch 13.3 g (without strap)
Movement
- Ultra thin caliber K.23 0; made by Konstantin Chaykin manufacture with manual key winding or with manual and automatic winding when using an external carrier case the movement is integrated into the watch case
- Number of jewels: 51
- Number of movement parts: 204
- Balance unit: Double balance wheel with gear clutch (patent pending)
- Escapement: Swiss lever escapement
- Frequency: 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz)
- Power reserve of 32 hours; ensured by a single winding barrel with an ultra thin design (patent pending)
Functions/Indications
- Joker indication with hour and minute displays
Strap and buckle
- Specially developed strap made of black alligator leather with elastic inserts and flexible titanium supports (patent pending)
- Classic pin buckle in stainless steel, made by Konstantin Chaykin manufacture
MSRP: Price upon request
For more information, please visit chaykin.ru
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