Konstantin Chaykin Reveals Limited Edition Mouse King Watch

Konstantin Chaykin’s new limited edition “Mouse King” watch takes inspiration from a classic fairytale and the Chinese zodiac.

Russian independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin has revealed the latest addition to the “Wristmon Collection” – the playful “Mouse King” watch.

When thinking of how to describe this unique Russian watchmaker, the first words that jump to mind are “fun” and “quirky,” and the Mouse King watch is no different.

Following in the footsteps of the smiling “Joker” and other editions of the Wristmons Collection, the Mouse King features the same two “googly eyes,” two disks that rotate to indicate the hours and minutes while the “smile” acts as the moon phase indicator. Thanks to the quirky time-telling movements, it’s estimated that the Mouse King can display over 20,000 different facial expressions ranging from moody to straight out cheeky depending on where the “eyes” and “tongue” are positioned.

The inspiration for the Mouse King began during the Christmas holidays when watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin was reading E.T.A Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and The Mouse King” to his daughter as a bedtime story. A story close to Konstantin’s heart (in part because of the character Drosselmeier who is a watchmaker), this time, it was the character of the angry Mouse King that caught his attention.

Having already been considering creating a mouse inspired watch for the Chinese New Year “Year of the Mouse,” it struck Konstantin as no coincidence that the exact date of the Chinese New Year fell on the same day as his daughters birthday and his mother’s name day (a European tradition of celebrating everyone who has the same name – similar to a birthday). The idea for a new watch started forming.

While considering different watch and clock decisions, it was finally decided that the Mouse King should become a Wristmon Collection watch with the smiling joker face, and the angry king would have no choice but to be happy.

Another reason for the Wristmon design was Konstantin Chaykin’s long term desire to experiment with moving the crown of the watch to 12’o’clock, and the Mouse King watch provided the perfect opportunity to do so – becoming the actual “crown” of the Mouse King and created in 18K gold with an embedded genuine ruby.

Other design features of Konstantin Chaykin’s Mouse King is the titanium case with “ears” formed by the upper lugs and the delicate Guilloche engraved face with its detailed whiskers and fur-like appearance.

The Mouse King also sees an upgrade of the watch movement from the ETA 2824 that powered the previous versions of the Joker to the new K07-01 movement, which offers a power reserve of 50 hours instead of the previous 38 hours.

The Mouse King is limited to only seven pieces (in a nod to the seven-headed Mouse King in the original 1816 fairytale) and is available from Konstantin Chaykin.

Konstantin Chaykin Mouse King Watch Details & Price

Case: 42 x 13.7 mm

Dial: Dial finish in Silver with multi-color lacquer coating and Guilloche detailing

Material: Titanium with 18k gold crown with ruby insert

Movement: Cal. K07-1 with automatic winding (Vaucher 3002 base used by Hermes, Parmigiani, and Richard Mille)

Functions: Hours, minutes, and moon phase

Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)

Winding: Automatic

Power reserve: 50 hours

Strap: Black alligator with calfskin lining and golden stitching

Water resistance: 30 m

Limited edition: 7 pieces

Price: €24,900