Konstantin Chaykin’s Wristmon series needs no introduction, but the story of the present Piece Unique watch began in Spring 2023 when Chaykin drew attention to the 60th anniversary of a sports icon, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 6239 Panda dial. Famous for its white dial with black registers earning its moniker “Panda” dial, it also made history when Phillips sold Paul Newman’s Daytona ref. 6239 for a world record in 2017.
As a rule in Chaykin’s designs, it is all about manifestations of the theme that interests him in various facets of civilization. Colliding past and the future, myths and archeological facts, traditionalism and the avant-garde, last but not least, West and East, this is the core DNA of his creations. As he started his first sketch for the Panda Wristmon in 2023, another symbolic image of a panda came to mind, the English ecologist and artist Peter Scott had designed for the logo of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1961 – a couple of years before the Daytona ‘Panda Dial’ was released. The panda – the WWF’s emblem – sparked interest in pandas around the world, and as early as 1963, the Chinese government established the Wolong Nature Reserve, the first successful project to support the panda population.
Sized at 40mm and cased in stainless steel, the Panda Piece Unique features a faceted bezel with its model name “PANDA” encircling its whimsical dial. The upper lugs are equally playful crafted in black carbon fiber in the shape of the animal’s ears. With great attention to details, the white and black areas of the dial are decorated with sandblasting finish. The silver-plated convex nose is vertically brushed to give the design an austere character. The waviness of the panda’s coat is conveyed through a radial wavy guilloché similar to the first Joker watch. With the absence of numbers for the hours and minutes, Chaykin has cleverly used white dots to indicate the indexes. Exhibited through the sapphire caseback is the La Joux-Perret G200 based automatic movement with a power reserve of 68 hours.
A combination of West meets East, horological icon meets nature, the Panda Piece Unique made for the Lavish Attic 11th anniversary is the perfect timepiece created for its Asia debut.
Please note that a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the present watch will be given by the Consignor to Albert Hausammann Foundation. The foundation provides financial support to eligible students from regions in Asia for the purpose of training or advancing their skills in the art of watchmaking.
