Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Konstantin Chaykin Turns Cufflinks into a Mechanical Calendar
And you thought manually winding your watch was enough of a regular relationship with time? Chaykin’s Master of Days adds another ritual.
For most people, cufflinks keep a shirt cuff in place and often add a little personality to an otherwise formal outfit. Jewellers offer cufflinks with genuine watch movements, and watchmakers have also been known to manufacture cufflinks, though more often as an added accessory than a functional piece. Indie watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin saw an opportunity to make them more complicated and expand their functionality. Chaykin’s Master of Days is a pair of mechanical cufflinks with a seven-day calendar display, and the unusual part is that the wearer provides the energy: every time you fasten a cufflink, the mechanism advances the pointer to the next day; thus, getting dressed becomes part of the mechanism.
The miniature 18mm-diameter, 5.7mm-thick titanium case contains an elaborate mechanical device. Each cufflink is topped with a sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating, and the visible underlying mechanism makes the cufflink feel more like a tiny mechanical instrument than a piece of shirt hardware. At the centre is a seven-pointed star wheel, a functional component that also becomes a key visual feature. Its movement drives a bright blue pointer with a large tip, spotlighting the current day of the week.
The cufflink employs calibre A.01-1, measuring 13.9mm by 2.1mm, built with two jewels. The applied finishing borrows from fine mechanical watchmaking. The mainplate is sandblasted, while individual components are brushed and polished. Their edges are hand-finished with anglage, creating polished bevels. Each cufflink comprises 40 components, 13 for the case and 27 for the display mechanism.
Some may argue that Master of Days turns the morning itself into the complication with added stress. But it is not a bad solution for anyone who feels a manually wound watch doesn’t offer enough contact with time. A pair of Konstantin Chaykin Master of Days cufflinks will set you back CHF 4,500. For more information, please visit konstantinchaykin.com.
