Zootopia: Konstantin Chaykin Adds a Panda and a White Tiger to its Menagerie

Back in 2018, when his Wristmons collection was barely a year old, the Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin started doodling animal-inspired watch faces in his Moleskine notebooks. While his concepts could probably fill the Moscow Zoo,

Chaykin decided to rein in his ideas by creating a set of five Wristmons – Panda, Wolf, Monkey, Falcon, and Tiger – and releasing one model per year. Chaykin is committed to working within these animalistic parameters, but that doesn’t mean his imagination is constrained in any way. At Geneva Watch Days, the Maison has announced the evolution of the collection with the addition of an improved Panda to the permanent collections and the announcement of the new White Tiger.

We don’t need to tell you that Konstantin Chaykin’s Wristmons are more than mere whimsy. From the launch of the first anthropomorphic Wristmons (i.e., “Wrist Monster”) – the Joker – in 2017, the watches have featured serious complications and finishes, along with a lot of character. Case in point: The Panda.
 

On November 23, 2024, at a Phillips charity auction in Hong Kong, the Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin created a stainless-steel model “Panda Piece Unique.”

This variant was a cheeky reference to the Rolex Daytona Paul Newman “Panda” ref. 6239, as well as the World Wildlife Fund logo, which was designed in 1961 by the English ecologist and artist Peter Scott. The playful panda theme extended beyond the dial, with the upper lugs crafted from carbon fiber composite to form panda ears.
 

At GWD, Konstantin Chaykin has announced that the Panda will join the permanent collection as the first watch in its “East” set (the other four “East” models will be rolled out over the next four years to give collectors a chance to save up their pennies).

The 2025 Panda has also evolved from the 2024 one-off. The 40mm case is now forged from lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and hypoallergenic titanium instead of heavy steel.
 

The hard-wearing material is finished with a combination of traditional techniques such as vertical and circular brushing, polishing, radial wavy guilloché relief, and sandblasting to suggest the texture of the Panda’s fur. This provides an interesting and appealing aesthetic, which will no doubt appeal to collectors.

Other unique features include a ribbed bezel engraved with the five letters of the model’s name (PANDA) and an exclusive, manufacture-made leather strap.
 

Like its predecessor, this Panda employs Konstantin Chaykin’s signature Joker-indication system. The rolling eyes indicate the hours and minutes, while the moon-phase display takes the form of a smiling mouth.

The Panda is also distinguished by the unusual placement of the crown at 6 o’clock. A sapphire caseback permits the wearer to admire the K.18-22 caliber, which has been adapted from the automatic La Joux-Perret G200 movement and produced exclusively for Konstantin Chaykin.
 

For this iteration, a dedicated version of the Joker-indication module was also developed: the wheel-train bridge is shaped as a stylized map of Sichuan Province, the homeland of pandas.

Konstantin Chaykin also debuted another animal act at GWD 2025 – the White Tiger – and it is as technically innovative as it is charismatic in its design.
 

With a dial decorated using two types of embossed guilloché, the standouts of its striking display are its stunning blue eyes and – during daylight hours – a fanged, snarling mouth. Inside its jaws is an image of one of this fearsome predator’s prey. The mouth snaps shut at midnight, reopening at five in the morning to reveal a different pictogram each day.

This is a very fun complication. But there’s more to the story behind this watch than horological kitty treats. White Tiger is a reinterpretation of Konstantin Chaykin’s 2022 Smilodon model, which was created to mark the Year of the Tiger in the traditional Chinese calendar. With each new addition to the KC bestiary, the brand wants to create even more layers of allegory.
 

This edition also pays tribute to Bengal and Siberian tigers born with a genetic mutation. These animals lack the typical yellow-orange coat; instead, their fur remains white, patterned with black stripes. The irises of real white tigers are a piercing sky-blue, and it is precisely this shade that Chaykin chose for the eyes of the character’s indicators. This feline design is further accentuated by the upper lugs shaped like the big cat’s ears.

On another level, the White Tiger is a key figure in traditional Chinese astronomy and astrology.
 

Also known as Báihǔ, the white tiger is not a zodiac sign, but rather a guardian of the West and the ruler of the Seven Mansions – a group of seven constellations along the ecliptic through which the Moon passes from the fifteenth to the twenty-first days of the lunar sidereal month. In Chinese philosophy, the White Tiger also symbolizes the color white, the element of metal, and the evening twilight as a time of day.
 

To further contemplate this in-between time, the case is constructed from titanium, a white metal that is light in weight but also extremely durable. And the crown is positioned at 6 o’clock. The White Tiger is also equipped with a new self-winding in-house caliber – the K.33-4 – to give this kitty its roar.
 

For more information, including pricing, check out the Konstantin Chaykin website.