A smiley-faced watch just won at the Oscars of watchmaking

In the world of ultra-thin watches, every millimetre counts. Giants like Bvlgari and Richard Mille have spent the past few years in a heated rivalry of sorts, trying to outdo each other to make the most Ozempic-coded piece around. Then, in 2024, Russian independent watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin showed up with his 1.65 mm ThinKing and pretty much stole their thunder. Now, he’s back with the ThinKing Mystery, which keeps those remarkably slim proportions but adds a new trick: its hour and minute indicators appear to float above the dial, almost as if he has borrowed a little magic from Hogwarts.

The watch recently won the Audacity prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) 2026, often called the Oscars of watchmaking. The award recognises watches that challenge convention with bold ideas and technical innovation. It beat 83 other nominated timepieces to the honour, giving Chaykin his second win at the awards, following his 2018 triumph with the Clown watch.

And there’s more to this little show-off than its record-breaking slimness. Its 41 mm case packs in 284 components, while the movement offers a 38-hour power reserve and beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour. The entire watch weighs just 12.1 grams without the strap (that’s around the same weight as a whiteboard marker). Fitting all of that into such a small space must have called for some seriously high-stakes mechanical Tetris.

But the real magic is in how it tells the time. Instead of conventional hands, Chaykin uses two transparent sapphire discs, each measuring 10.6 mm across and just 0.2 mm thick, to indicate the hours and minutes. Driven laterally and supported by three rollers each, they appear to hover above the dial, creating the illusion of a display suspended mid-air. In this latest version, the discs are completely transparent, with the crossbars seen in earlier iterations now gone. Chaykin calls them “eyes”, and they’ve become so discreet that it’s almost difficult to tell what’s holding them in place. The brand even adds their logo below the eyes, creating a dial that mimics a smiling, google-eyed face.

As for the floating “eyes”, there’s a history behind this disappearing act. The idea goes back to Chaykin’s 2007 Mystery 1000 Jewels clock, inspired by 19th-century illusionist and watchmaker Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. He built clocks with floating hands, using hidden glass discs to conceal the mechanics. Chaykin has taken that old illusion and given it an impressive mechanical update.

Even winding the ThinKing Mystery comes with a twist. There’s no conventional crown; instead, it needs a dedicated winding box and key. So, this isn’t quite the watch you casually adjust while waiting for your coffee. The leather strap has also been specially developed, with elastic inserts and titanium stiffeners to accommodate the unusual construction.

What’s clear is that along with competing to create the skinniest timepiece around, Chaykin is also having fun. He’s best known for his playful Joker watches, with their expressive, almost cartoon-like visage and unconventional ways of displaying the time. His creations often have a sense of humour, but there’s always serious horological experimentation behind the fun. The ThinKing Mystery brings both sides together rather nicely.

Limited to just 12 pieces worldwide, the ThinKing Mystery isn’t trying to be the watch you throw on without a second thought. It is an exercise in curiosity, craftsmanship, and a little bit of showing off. And honestly, when you’ve managed to fit 284 components into a watch this slim, you’ve earned the right to.