Independent Russian watchmaker upends race to design world’s thinnest wristwatch

By Oscar Holland, CNN

(CNN) — In recent years, the giants of European horology have been locked in a heated battle to design the world’s thinnest mechanical watch.

Luxury brands Bulgari, Piaget and Richard Mille have all, since 2018, held the coveted record, which was most recently broken by Bulgari’s sleek 1.7-millimeter-thick Octo Finissimo Ultra Mark II, in April.

But now, an independent Russian watchmaker and inventor may have trumped them all.

Moscow-based Konstantin Chaykin says his new ThinKing prototype, which he debuted at the Geneva Watch Days fair in Switzerland in August, is just 1.65 millimeters (less than one-fifteenth of an inch) thick. He also believes it to be among the world’s lightest watches, weighing just 13.3 grams (less than 0.47 ounces), without its strap.

In an email to CNN, Chaykin said he has developed various innovations to make his design thinner “without compromising its functionality,” including a winding mechanism that is integrated into the barrel of the watch. The ThinKing also features a “double balance” wheel that allowed Chaykin to reduce the number of layers in the watch movement.

Mechanisms for winding the watch and adjusting its dials are, meanwhile, found in a separate 5.4-millimeter-thick carrier case, freeing up space (though the ThinKing can also be wound with a key). Chaykin said he has filed several patent applications, though none have yet been granted.

The watch is made using stainless steel and tungsten carbide, a light but exceptionally rigid compound. Chaykin, who is the only Russian member of the prestigious Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, said he is also considering using sapphires or diamonds in future versions of the watch, according to his brand’s website.

With the hour and minute displays separate from one another, the design resembles a face — a hallmark of the watchmaker’s signature Wristmons collection. The dials are each protected by 0.35-millimeter-thick (0.014-inch) sapphire crystals.

Thinner and thinner

Producing ultra-slim watches that are reliable, accurate and durable enough to wear has posed a major technical challenge to the world’s watchmakers. But the race to design ever-thinner watches appears to have accelerated in recent years.

Swiss brand Piaget debuted its 2-millimeter-thick Altiplano Ultimate Concept, then the world’s slimmest, in 2018, before putting it into production two years later. Luxury giant Bulgari then took the crown with the first iteration of its Octo Finissimo Ultra, which came in at just 1.8 millimeters.

Watchmaker Richard Mille soon went 0.05 millimeters thinner — a difference equivalent to a piece of printer paper — in 2022, with its RM UP-01 Ferrari. Bulgari then reclaimed the title this year with its aforementioned Octo Finissimo Ultra Mark II, a limited-edition model that was widely reported to cost over $500,000.

Whether Chaykin’s ThinKing can now be considered the record-holder, however, may be a matter of debate in horology circles. (Guinness World Records does not currently list an independently adjudicated record for thinnest watch.)

For one, the ThinKing is currently just a prototype — and its functionality and accuracy are yet to be independently assessed. Describing it as “more of a design and engineering study at this point,” James Stacey, lead editor of online watch magazine Hodinkee, wrote last week that he was “sure any sort of record-setting will be with (a) for-production (rather than) than non-production” timepiece.

The design is also so thin that it requires a special strap, featuring titanium supports and elastic inserts, to protect it from the shocks and stresses of everyday wear.

Chaykin nonetheless believes his prototype’s timekeeping accuracy and 32-hour power reserve qualify it as the new record-holder. He welcomed outside assessment, telling CNN that during the five-day Geneva Watch Days fair “hundreds of people” were able to inspect his creation.

“Visitors were able to hold the watch in their hands, check the time and test its functionality,” he said. “It is quite a bold step on our part to show the prototype in this way.  But the watch, to our delight, works perfectly, and to the delight of the visitors, it was possible to touch the watch… However, we are prepared to carry out all the necessary independent tests.”

The watchmaker said he will present a “final” version of his design at the Watches & Wonders trade show, also in Geneva, next April. By that time, the updated design should feature improved accuracy, power reserve and “tightness,” among other things, he told CNN. He added that the watch’s price “is not yet known.”

In a separate statement, Chaykin, who founded his eponymous watchmaking brand in 2003, said he became interested in slim timepieces after encountering an ultra-thin 19th-century Bagnolet pocket watch around 20 years ago.

He was inspired to make one after being challenged by a client to design an ultra-thin watch of his own. “I initially considered many possibilities and dedicated an entire Moleskine (notebook) to finding technical solutions,” he is quoted saying.

Chaykin’s statement also compared the process of configuring the watch’s inner workings to a puzzle. “As with any good puzzle, I had to tinker, look for non-trivial solutions, choose the best options and calculate the energy flows,” he added.

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