Inspired by Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Konstantin Chaykin’s Venus Spices Things Up a Bit

It’s often said that art imitates art, and in the case of Konstantin Chaykin’s latest Wristmon, it hits the nail on the head. The Wristmon series started with the now-famous Joker watch and has turned into an original and whimsical series of humanoid or animalistic-looking watches. Chaykin now turns to one of the most famous artworks by Sandro Botticelli, the Birth of Venus, which is on display at the Uffizi in Florence, Italy. Together with Italian retailer GMT Milano, the indie watchmaker captures the spirit of Botticelli’s Venus in a rather unique-looking watch. And don’t get carried away with the ‘stimulating’ imagery, we’re going to keep things decent!

The case of the Venus is toned down quite a bit compared to other Wristmons, and rightfully so, given the theme. It comes in steel and measures 40mm in diameter and 12.9mm top to bottom. But in all honesty, it’s the dial that matters most here, and it’s quite a provocative one. Botticelli’s Venus is represented by a silhouette on the main dial, with her face doubling as the moon phase indication (so an actual moon face). The most prominent details are Venus’ breasts, which indicate the hours and minutes by means of a pair of discs. There’s no beating around the bush here; it’s quite obvious what it is. The finishing touches are the flowing hair-like guilloché pattern and Chaykin’s logo as an elegant pendant around Venus’ neck.

Chaykin uses the La Joux-Perret G200 automatic as a base, which is then fitted with an in-house-developed module to create the calibre K18.25. It runs at a rate of 28,800vph and delivers 68 hours of power reserve. Time is indicated, rather graphically as you can see, by Venus’ breasts, with the left one for the hours and the right one for the minutes. The movement can be seen through the sapphire crystal on the caseback and is powered by a customised central rotor.

The Konstantin Chaykin Venus is presented on a black alligator leather strap with blue stitching that ties into the watch’s moon phase. Only 99 will be produced, at a price of CHF 20,000 (excl. VAT). Coinciding with the release of the watch, the prototype will be offered at the annual LILT charity auction, with proceeds supporting the purchase of a special ultrasound machine for early breast cancer diagnosis.

For more information, please visit KonstantinChaykin.com or GMTItalia.com.