While not everyone celebrates Christmas, this is the time of year when just about everyone on the planet sees likenesses of Santa Claus either plastered across every commercial everything everywhere or in your head (with visions of sugarplums likely dancing alongside).

I’m a big fan of the Christmas spirit. I’m the first one in my family to pop in a CD of heavy-hitting holiday tunes on December 1 and I will admit to being partial to watching a few lighthearted jingle-jangle movies at this time of year.

Konstantin Chaykin Joker Santa

This makes independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin’s latest holiday-themed Santa Wristmon more than timely. And whatever you may think of Chaykin’s continuous parade of themed faces in the wake of his ultra-successful Joker, you have to admit they’re pretty cute. They certainly make me smile every time I see one.

A Chaykin Joker Wristmon for every season

In case you haven’t been following the saga, it all started with 2017’s fanciful Joker, whose “face” is literally two googly eyes showing the hours and minutes with their respective pupils and a lolling red tongue displaying the phase of the moon.

To know him is to love him: Konstantin Chaykin’s Joker

In the wake of a career full of imaginative and serious horology, the Joker catapulted Chaykin into the consciousness of a much broader set of potential customers, also reinforcing his well-earned reputation for thoughtful innovation.

The success of the Joker also inspired Chaykin to take the theme further, re-creating cartoon characters. He cooperated with fellow AHCI watchmaker colleague Svend Andersen to make a haute horlogerie variation on the theme and now continues to capture celebratory moments of seasons – even re-creating Dracula for Halloween with an impossibly clever set of fangs that appear and disappear as a day/night indication (the fangs come out at night).

No, it’s not conventional by any stretch. But it sure is fun.

Konstantin Chaykin Mouse King on the wrist

For the holiday season 2020 there are two Chaykin Wristmon watches to choose from: the first is the Mouse King as I mentioned in 6 Festive Watches From 2020 Bound To Unfetter Your Wrist This Season. The Mouse King does double duty, representing both the The Nutcracker’s Mouse King and 2020’s Chinese zodiac Year of the Rat (which we are currently in until February 2021 arrives, bringing the ox with it).

And the second is Santa Claus.

Konstantin Chaykin Joker Santa on the wrist

Konstantin Chaykin Santa Wristmon Special Edition

Santa is another fun Chaykin watch whose superpower is to make people smile with its googly, yet functional, eyes and a smiley, open countenance.

The eyes (time display) are cartoonishly cute as are the nose and mouth, which are jolly and red. Santa has a bushy white beard and eyebrows, but it is the eyeglasses that I’d like to draw your attention to here: their placement meant that Chaykin had to modify the the Wristmon movement.

Konstantin Chaykin Joker Santa in the Christmas spirit

The eyeglasses both increased the number of dial components to 18 – the Mouse King, for example, has nine – and made the dial slightly higher, which meant that Chaykin had to find more space inside the existing case as he didn’t want the case to be any larger. So he modified his proprietary Joker module.

Konstantin Chaykin Joker Santa on the wrist

In the standard Joker movement, which is based on the ETA 2824-2, the hour and minute indicators (the googly eyes) are installed above the moon phase disk (the mouth). In the Santa variation all three disks are even with each other. To achieve this, Chaykin used shorter axles while modifying the size of the disks – which means that the eyes and the moon phase of the mouth have slightly decreased in size.

In short, Santa’s “face” needed to be re-designed. But is it ever cute!

Back of the Konstantin Chaykin Joker Santa

Some very Christmasy new details include the letters S-A-N-T-A on the steel bezel and the special engraving on the case back depicting Santa’s reindeer pulling his sleigh through a wintery snow scene.

Another great detail is the strap, which is decorated to resemble Santa Claus’ jolly suit.

Konstantin Chaykin Joker Santa

The last element I’d like to mention here is a fun Christmas surprise: look Santa straight in the eyes to discover seven snowflakes floating on the carefully lacquered spherical surfaces of the eye disks.

Talk about a twinkle in his eye!

Konstantin Chaykin Joker Santa in its festive case

For more information, please visit www.chaykin.ru/en/collection/joker.

Quick Facts Konstantin Chaykin Joker Wristmon Santa
Case: 42 x 13.7 mm, stainless steel
Dial: silver plating, guilloche stamping; 18 parts
Movement: automatic Caliber K.07-2 (ETA 2824-2 base); 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, 38-hour power reserve; 61 components in the module
Functions: regulator hours and minutes; moon phase display
Limitation: 3 pieces
Price: €18,230

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