White Rabbit
A Super-Complicated Wristmon
The newest masterpiece, White Rabbit, with Grand Complication–level functions, ranks among the twenty most complex wristwatches in the entire history of watchmaking.
The model includes 16 complications, among them the first perpetual calendar in the history of Russian watchmaking and in the career of Konstantin Chaykin. The creator also added a unique “secret” function directly linking the premiere to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Another Masterpiece Among the World’s Most Complex Wristwatches
16 Complications
While working on the White Rabbit, the idea kept growing more complex. To keep the project from expanding endlessly, Chaykin stopped at the right moment. As a result, the movement received 16 complications and 691 components, becoming one of the most impressive mechanisms of his career.
List of Complications:
1. Indication of hours and minutes of mean solar time on a “regulator” dial
2–6. Perpetual calendar with hand-type indicators for the date, day of the week, month, and leap-year cycle
2. Indication of day length
3. Indication of night length
4. Deadbeat seconds
5. Moon phase indicator
11–12. a.m./p.m. indicator with instantaneous switching
13. Sunrise time indicator
14. Sunset time indicator
15. Zodiac sign indicator
16 “Mad Tea Party” suspended time indication function
A Unique Perpetual Calendar
When creating the White Rabbit’s perpetual calendar, Konstantin Chaykin chose the most difficult path—developing the mechanism entirely from scratch, without relying on existing constructions or using ready-made modules. This complication is one of the most prestigious and technically demanding in watchmaking, alongside the minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph, and tourbillon.The perpetual calendar developed by Chaykin has its own engineering logic and original architecture, instantly recognizable to any expert.
A Unique Set of Complex Functions
The list of classic complications—perpetual calendar, zodiac indicator, sunrise and sunset times, day and night duration, and deadbeat seconds—is complemented by the signature Joker-style time display with a moon-phase indicator and an a.m./p.m. display embedded in the wristmon’s “nose.”
Even this level of complexity would not be so impressive without Chaykin’s unique invention—the Mad Tea Party function. Pressing a special button moves the time indicators—the rabbit’s eyes—to the position “six o’clock, zero minutes.” This is a literal quote from Alice in Wonderland, where the characters at the Mad Tea Party are stuck at exactly this time.
“White Rabbit” and High Watchmaking
Caliber
The White Rabbit’s Caliber K.34-1 is one of Chaykin’s finest works. Following haute horlogerie traditions, he paid attention not only to technical perfection but also to aesthetics. Though hidden inside the case, the mechanism is visually striking, featuring a symmetrical astronomical module with artistically shaped bridges and a perpetual-calendar lever resembling a walking human figure.Concept
The avant-garde concept and unconventional design do not exclude the use of traditional finishing techniques. The decoration of Caliber K.34-1 includes perlage, linear and circular graining, polished bevels and screw heads, spherical hardening of pivot ends, and galvanic gold and rhodium plating, turning the movement into a true work of high watchmaking art.
A Super-Complex Case for Super-Complex Watchmaking
The White Rabbit concept includes a double-sided case, which can transform the watch from wrist format to pocket format and back again. According to Chaykin, this is the most complex wristwatch case of his entire career—inevitably a result of the movement’s extreme complexity.
A total of 169 components were required to bring the idea to life—an exceptionally high number for a watch case. The case ring features buttons for correcting the perpetual calendar, the moon-phase indicator, and the Mad Tea Party mode. Even the pocket-watch chain is crafted with the same precision and attention to detail as the mechanism itself.
A Flight of Fantasy by Konstantin Chaykin
Following his artistic intuition, Chaykin transformed the originally envisioned small seconds hand into a deadbeat seconds mechanism, added a zodiac indicator, and gave the a.m./p.m. indicator an instantaneous-switching function.
He soon realized that unless he restrained his imagination, the implementation of all his ideas could take an unpredictably long time, and the project was already delayed.
At first glance, it’s clear that the design is inspired in part by the ever-hurried White Rabbit, anxiously checking his pocket watch.
At the same time, he introduced two significant protective mechanisms to prevent damage. First, a special mechanism allows the day wheel—which advances the perpetual calendar at midnight—to rotate only forward. Reverse rotation is impossible, which is crucial because a traditional perpetual calendar is designed to advance in one direction only; backward movement of its wheels and levers could lead to breakage.
A Mad
Horological Party
Konstantin Chaykin, the artist behind this painting, has recently appeared more frequently in his new role as a painter. His works offer a unique experience, spanning two distinct artistic fields: the creation of emotionally charged, highly complex, and exceptionally thin watches from meticulously crafted metal pieces, and the expression of the exquisite and whimsical world of a watchmaker’s imagination through painting.
Buy at auction
Auction: Where a Time-Measurement Mechanism Becomes a Work of Art
Lot 5
Konstantin Chaykin“A Mad Horological Party” Painting
In his new painting A Mad Horological Party, executed as an allegorical self-portrait, Konstantin Chaykin offers a unique experience combining two artistic domains: the art of creating emotionally charged, super-complex watches and the art of expressing the fantastical world of a watchmaker on canvas.
The idea for this painting appeared as a metaphor for the creation of the super-complicated White Rabbit wristmon, named after the character from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Lot 6
Konstantin Chaykin“White Rabbit” Watch Prototype
A wristmon ranking among the top 20 most complicated wristwatches in the world. Particular attention is deserved by the perpetual calendar developed entirely from scratch—without ready modules or existing schemes. It is comparable in complexity to a minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph, or tourbillon.
The engineering architecture of Chaykin’s calendar is absolutely original and instantly recognizable to experts.
