At Basel Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin will present his Mystery wristwatch. Originally developed by Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin but made most famous by Cartier with its Mystery clocks, the Mystery watch is essentially two hands floating in the middle of an open space, giving the impression the hands are floating.    



Konstantin Chaykin Mystery

Mr Chaykin doesn’t reveal the workings of this mechanism in the press release but it’s surely the tried and tested method of using a pair of sapphire discs, one for each of the hands. The discs have teeth on their periphery and are driven by gears.

As the photo below reveals, the movement is squeezed into the space between the case and the transparent dial, like the 19th century pocket watches of Armand Schwob.

The movement of the Konstantin Chaykin Mystery

The Mystery attempts to look elegant but somehow fails. It doesn’t look distinctive either, unlike the Lunokhod, which is massive and quite Russian looking. That is certainly Mr Chaykin’s most recognisable watch.  Mr Chaykin will also present a facelifted version of the Lunokhod moon phase, the Lunokhod Prime at Basel. This is cased in gold, unlike its Damascus steel brother. Other differences are the sapphire dial, retrograde minutes and large pearl that is the spherical moon phase.

– SJX  

Konstantin Chaykin Lunokhod Prime