Konstantin Chaykin Adds a Striped New Character to the Wristmon Family

Konstantin Chaykin’s Wristmons have always treated mechanical watchmaking as a stage for character, timing and a little mischief.

The latest member of that animated family is Matroskin the Cat, a watch that turns a well-known striped feline into a fully functioning timepiece with moving eyes and a moon-phase smile.

It’s a serious independent watch with a deliberately unserious face, and that balance is exactly where Chaykin tends to do his best work.

A cartoon cat joins Chaykin’s mechanical cast

Matroskin first appeared in Eduard Uspensky’s 1974 novella Uncle Fyodor, the Dog and the Cat, before becoming widely recognised through animation produced by Soyuzmultfilm Studio.

For Chaykin, the character is a natural fit.

The watchmaker’s Wristmons already use faces, expressions and visual jokes as part of the time display, rather than treating decoration as something separate from the mechanism.

Matroskin was voted Russia’s favourite animated character in 2025, the same year Chaykin and Soyuzmultfilm Animation Studio signed their collaboration agreement.

That gives this release a cultural charge beyond the usual independent-watch novelty, especially for collectors who grew up with the character.

The eyes tell the time

The Matroskin the Cat Wristmon uses Chaykin’s familiar double-disc display to turn the face into the function.

The left green eye indicates the hours, while the right green eye indicates the minutes, each using a white circular marker and numerals around the edge.

The discs rotate at different speeds, so the cat’s expression changes constantly through the day.

Chaykin has used up to 25 layers of lacquer to give the eyes their glossy depth, an important detail on a watch where the personality depends so much on the dial.

A grey galvanic-coated and abrasively blasted surface surrounds the eyes to suggest fur, while raised black forms at 12 o’clock recreate the M-shaped marking associated with tabby cats.

Those rounded black elements also carry the Konstantin Chaykin logo.

The white muzzle, black nose and wide smile complete the character, but the mouth has a mechanical job too.

Matroskin’s bright red tongue changes position to show the current moon phase, making one of traditional watchmaking’s most poetic indications feel unexpectedly comic.

Cat ears, whiskers and a tactile steel case

The stainless steel case measures 40mm across and 12.15mm thick, which keeps the watch wearable despite the amount of sculptural work in the design.

Instead of conventional upper lugs, Chaykin has shaped them as feline ears, with sandblasted recessed areas to give them definition.

The whiskers are treated as more than printed dial furniture.

They’re crafted in guilloché relief and extend outward onto the bezel, where raised brushed areas and sandblasted recesses add texture.

The contrast finishing continues around the case, with circular brushing, polished bevels, a polished crown, polished bezel highlights and a screwed-down caseback ring.

A sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating covers the dial, while the back uses a sapphire window secured by six screws.

The crown sits at 6 o’clock, a placement that helps preserve the symmetry of the character’s head.

The K.18.27 calibre and limited production

Inside the watch is the calibre K.18.27, built around a Swiss-made La Joux-Perret G200 automatic base and Chaykin’s in-house Joker indication module.

The module comprises 85 parts and is responsible for the expressive display that has become central to the Wristmon line.

The movement runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4Hz, and offers a 68-hour power reserve.

It uses 32 jewels in total, including eight for the module, and is described as receiving high-end finishing.

The strap follows the cat theme without overcomplicating it, using black-and-grey leather inspired by the stripes on a tabby cat’s tail.

Production is limited to 90 pieces, with pricing set at CHF 18,800.

For collectors of independent watchmaking, the appeal is likely to be less about understatement and more about the rare ability to make humour mechanically convincing.

Konstantin Chaykin Matroskin the Cat Wristmon details

FAQ

What is the Konstantin Chaykin?

The Matroskin the Cat Wristmon brings a beloved animated character into Konstantin Chaykin’s playful mechanical universe, complete with wandering eyes, a moon-phase tongue and a 90-piece production run.

What makes the movement important on this watch?

Konstantin Chaykin Adds a Striped New Character to the Wristmon Family The Matroskin the Cat Wristmon brings a beloved animated character into Konstantin Chaykin’s playful mechanical universe, complete with wandering eyes, a…

Is the Konstantin Chaykin more of a collector watch or a daily watch?

Each eye uses a rotating disc with a white circular marker and numerals around the edge.What does the tongue do on the Konstantin Chaykin cat watch?The red tongue is the moon-phase indicator.

How should collectors judge a watch like this?

Each eye uses a rotating disc with a white circular marker and numerals around the edge.What does the tongue do on the Konstantin Chaykin cat watch?The red tongue is the moon-phase indicator. Collectors should look at the movement, complication, case material, production context, wearability and confirmed availability before drawing conclusions.

What should buyers compare with the Konstantin Chaykin?

Konstantin Chaykin Adds a Striped New Character to the Wristmon Family The Matroskin the Cat Wristmon brings a beloved animated character into Konstantin Chaykin’s playful mechanical universe, complete with wandering eyes, a… Useful comparisons are watches with a similar complication, case material, movement approach, price positioning and intended use.