Can a watch be a love letter to a genre of music? In 2013, to mark his tenth year in watchmaking, Konstantin Chaykin did exactly that. The Levitas Jazz is a piece unique, a single one-of-a-kind object in which every element, from the dial to the case, from the hands to the moon phase, speaks the warm, improvisational and slightly rebellious language of jazz. This is not so much a watch as a nightclub folded onto the wrist.
Levitas: Time Floating in Mid-Air
Levitas is Latin for lightness, and lightness is precisely what Chaykin chases in this collection: the illusion of weightlessness. At the centre of the transparent dial the hands appear to float in mid-air, attached to nothing. What makes this possible is the calibre K.02-1, which wraps around the transparent zone like a crescent moon. Chaykin's own module sits atop a well-proven Swiss classic, the ETA 2824-2 base; the movement measures 31.5 mm across, beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour, holds 33 jewels and offers roughly a 33-hour power reserve. The finishing is pure haute horlogerie: Cotes de Geneve, perlage, hand-bevelled chamfers, polished screw sinks and rhodium plating.
A Jazz Club on the Wrist
The real performance begins on the dial. The face of the Levitas Jazz looks as though it has been built on top of an old vinyl record; a sculptural gramophone and record grooves lend the dial depth, as if a soundtrack were spinning across it. Into the asymmetrical case, the crown and the lugs, Chaykin has hidden real musical instruments: piano keys on one side, double-bass strings on the other, and a drumhead crafted from mother-of-pearl. Each detail is a different instrument in the same orchestra.
Notes, Clefs and a Night Sky
Even the time markers are notes. In place of numerals, diamond-set gold musical notes mark the hours, while treble, alto and bass clefs sit at the cardinal points of the dial. The moon phase above is set against a night sky scattered with note-shaped stars. One of the hands carries the words Mystery of Jazz, styled like a record label, while another inscription whispers that the PG-band performs improvisations on works selected by Konstantin Chaykin. The melancholy of the blues, the speed of bebop, the cool of cool jazz and the voice of Ella Fitzgerald all seem to sound at once on this miniature stage.
Building the Dial: No Room for Fingerprints
This transparent dial is a test even for experienced watchmakers. The structure Chaykin devised must be assembled without leaving a single fingerprint or speck of dust; the slightest mistake ruins the whole scene. A wedge-shaped hour hand, shaped like a torch, catches the light reflected off the rotating disc and brings the dial to life. The core idea of jazz is to turn seemingly dissonant sounds into a conversation, and the Levitas Jazz does exactly that, gathering dozens of scattered-looking details into a single harmony.
A Gift for Ten Years
The Levitas Jazz was not an ordinary launch but a milestone. The 23rd of October 2013 marked Konstantin Chaykin's tenth year in the craft, and to celebrate it the master offered enthusiasts a game: a lucky horseshoe for anyone who could find every musical element hidden in the design. The case is 61 mm across, practically a stage in itself, built from a two-tone marriage of 18-carat white gold and 14-carat rose gold, and adorned with diamonds, mother-of-pearl and agate. Sapphire crystals sit front and back, the reverse opening onto the movement like a display window.
Jazz is the freedom of notes; the Levitas Jazz is a watchmaker's own improvisation, translating that freedom into wheels, jewels and gold. A melody you listen to not with your ears, but with your eyes.
A Melody Heard with the Eyes
This single, unique piece is perhaps the most poetic proof of the idea Chaykin has defended for years: a watch does not only have to measure time, it can also carry an emotion, a sound, an era. Look at the Levitas Jazz and you will see what time it is; look a little longer and you may almost hear a trumpet playing somewhere in the distance.
