Konstantin Chaykin has a habit of finding horological theatre in places other watchmakers might ignore.
With Master of Days, the independent maker moves the complication off the wrist and onto the shirt cuff, creating a pair of titanium cufflinks that display the day of the week through a tiny mechanical mechanism.
It’s an eccentric idea, but a neatly considered one, turning the daily act of getting dressed into a small mechanical ritual.
At a glance
- Konstantin Chaykin’s Master of Days is a pair of mechanical cufflinks with a seven-day calendar display.
- The mechanism advances its bright blue pointer when the cufflink is fastened, using the wearer’s action as the input.
- The titanium cufflinks are priced at CHF 4,500 and use a dedicated calibre A.01-1 mechanism.
A calendar complication for the shirt cuff
Most cufflinks are ornamental, even when they borrow the visual language of watchmaking.
Master of Days goes further by giving the object a functional mechanical display, with a day-of-the-week indication shown beneath a sapphire crystal.
The idea is simple to understand and unusual in execution.
Each time the wearer fastens the cufflink, the mechanism moves the display forward, sending a bright blue pointer to the next day.
That makes the cufflink less like an accessory and more like a miniature instrument that relies on touch and routine rather than a crown or rotor.
The seven-pointed star at the centre
The visual focus is a seven-pointed star wheel, a working component that also gives the cufflink its mechanical character.
It sits beneath the crystal and drives the pointer, making the calendar action visible rather than hidden inside a closed case.
The proportions are genuinely small, with an 18mm diameter and a thickness of 5.7mm.
Polished and brushed titanium keeps the construction in the language of contemporary watchmaking, while the anti-reflective sapphire crystal helps frame the display like a tiny dial.
The blue pointer, with its enlarged tip, gives the indication enough clarity to avoid becoming purely decorative.
Miniature finishing with watchmaking intent
The cufflinks are powered by calibre A.01-1, a compact mechanical device measuring 13.9mm by 2.1mm.
It uses two jewels and contains 27 components for the display mechanism, while the case itself accounts for another 13 components.
The finishing is treated with the same vocabulary collectors expect from fine mechanical watchmaking.
The mainplate is sandblasted, individual components are brushed and polished, and the edges receive hand-finished anglage.
Those details matter because the mechanism is on show, and because an object this niche only really works if the execution feels deliberate rather than gimmicky.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Konstantin Chaykin |
|---|---|
| Model | Master of Days cufflinks |
| Case size | 18mm diameter x 5.7mm thick |
| Case material | Polished and brushed titanium |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating |
| Display | Mechanical day-of-the-week indication |
| Display elements | Seven-pointed star wheel and bright blue pointer |
| Movement | Calibre A.01-1 |
| Movement size | 13.9mm x 2.1mm |
| Jewels | 2 |
| Activation | Manually advanced when the cufflink is fastened |
| Components | 40 per cufflink, including 13 case components and 27 display-mechanism components |
| Function | Day-of-the-week indication |
| Price | CHF 4,500 per pair |
Master of Days will appeal to collectors who enjoy mechanical watchmaking beyond the usual case-and-strap format.
It’s not a practical necessity, and that’s precisely the charm. Chaykin has taken one of menswear’s smallest formal details and turned it into a playful, tactile reminder that complications don’t always need to live on the wrist.
