Introducing: The 1.65mm-Thin Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery — Is It The Slimmest Mechanical Watch In The World?

Do you remember the ThinKing, the ultra-thin, in-house, one-of-a-kind watch with a mere 1.65mm profile that surprised everybody in 2024? Piaget and Bvlgari were locked in battle to come up with the world’s thinnest mechanical watch, Richard Mille joined the fight, and then, out of the blue, Konstantin Chaykin presented the ThinKing. The watch never reached production, but two years later, the Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery debuts with an equal 1.65mm thickness. And since this is a 12-piece limited edition, it’s officially the thinnest mechanical production watch in the world. Congratulations, Konstantin Chaykin!

The one-of-a-kind Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing was a prototype, but someone did buy it. In 2025, the world’s thinnest mechanical watch sold for CHF 508,000 at Phillips. The unique ThinKing was a marvel of mechanical precision requiring serious watchmaking skills, yet it presented itself with Joker-inspired charm. To repeat this record-breaking innovation in a limited series of 12 watches required rethinking the total production process and a deep commitment to getting the job done. The result is a serious statement of groundbreaking horology with a wicked smile.

The Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery is the thinnest mechanical watch in the world

Let’s make it official: the Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery is the thinnest mechanical watch in the world. And this is not a prototype. Rather, it’s a watch that’s commercially available in a limited series of 12 pieces, and it deserves the hotly disputed title. Kudos to Konstantin Chaykin for grabbing this designation while much bigger brands with more resources, like Piaget, Bvlgari, and Richard Mille, were also trying to claim it. While the ThinKing Mystery is based on the prototype, it also has some very interesting new features.

When you read “Mystery” in the name of a watch, it tells you there is a mysterious, invisible mechanism at work, showing the time. To find seemingly freely turning sapphire discs in a watch with a mere 1.65mm thickness is a big surprise. Konstantin Chaykin not only figured out how to turn a wafer-thin prototype into a production watch but also added a fascinating mystery feature — fully transparent, time-telling sapphire discs.

The Joker’s see-through eyes

For the ThinKing Mystery, the “eyes” are fully transparent, with the crossbars eliminated from their structure. The concept echoes Chaykin’s Mystery 1000 Jewels, created in 2007 as a tribute to the legacy of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, the illusionist, watchmaker, and inventor. In the 19th century, Robert-Houdin designed a table clock with a single hand driven by a transparent disc. It appeared to float in mid-air while the movement itself remained concealed within the case.

In the ThinKing prototype, the lateral drive transmitted motion to wheels mounted on a central axis. The ThinKing Mystery makes the lateral drive turn solid sapphire discs with three rollers placed around each indicator. These rollers guide the discs’ motion while not draining too much of the mainspring’s energy. This means the power reserve is now greater than in the prototype. The in-house caliber K.23-3.1 now provides 38 hours of autonomy rather than 32. You wind the movement with a special tool, and it comes with a dedicated winding box.

Check, recheck, and check again

The complex movement is a delicate piece of watchmaking technology. For instance, the watch’s “case back” is the mainplate, and the balance assembly is laid out in a single plane, consisting of two wheels whose rims interlock via teeth. The first governs the frequency and isochronism of oscillations. The second, fitted with a roller, acts as the impulse-jewel plate and interacts with the pallet fork. A new feature is the ultra-thin, uncovered barrel now reinforced with stiffening ribs.

Finishing the components is just as important and demanding as precisely manufacturing them. Indeed, finishing is an exacting, highly delicate process. Removing even the slightest excess of material can introduce deformation and compromise the geometry of the entire assembly. Despite the constraints, both the case and caliber demonstrate levels of Haute Horlogerie finishing. The bridges and mainplate show perlage and straight graining, the wheels display circular graining, and every bevel is meticulously cut and polished by hand.

To get everything right and working properly, the case alone passes through roughly 40 routing checkpoints. The tolerances are super tight; even a micron-level deviation can cause problems. This is a way of doing things more akin to aerospace engineering than traditional watchmaking. Watchmakers meticulously document all parameters and validate them against rigorous quality standards.

Speaking of the case, the alloy used undergoes an intensive heat-treatment process to make the material harder and more resistant to plastic deformation. At this stage, the watchmaker must intimately understand the material and how the tool interacts with it. Again, a mere micron-level deviation can alter critical clearances between components and ultimately destabilize the movement.

Profiling the Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery

You could state that the Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery has a slim profile. That would be a huge over- or understatement. With a 1.65mm thickness, it is beyond super slim, making that an understatement. But the absence of thickness also means the watch has almost no profile to speak of, so it would be an understatement to call a watch as thin as its strap one with a slim profile. That strap, by the way, is made of high-quality leather and features resilient titanium stiffeners and elastic inserts. The strap is part of the overall structure and significantly reduces unwanted stress on the case. It doesn’t make the ThinKing Mystery a GADA watch. However, it does seem to be wearable without owners living in constant fear of breaking it.

For now, there’s no price available for the 12 Konstantin Chaykin ThinKing Mystery watches. Do you want to know, or do you want it to remain as mysterious as the watch’s inner workings? You can always visit Konstantin Chaykin’s official website to look for answers.