The St.Petersburg Centre of Watch & Clock Restoration

Russian Breguet

A watchmaker and businessman from St.-Petersburg has designed and constructed on his own a table clock with a tourbillon - the first and single Russian clock of the class Grande Complications.

From the trade to mechanics

A young watch businessman from St.-Petersburg Konstantin Chaykin has proved: in order to manufacture a clock with a tourbillon one needn't to be a Swiss, needn't to graduate from a prestigious watch-school, needn't to have a super-modern factory, a staff of masters-professionals and a wealthy sponsor. It's enough to be fond of horology really and not to recede in the face of difficulties.

In contrast to the Swiss who have made watches a family business, nobody of Chaykin's relatives has ever been a watchmaker. And he himself during his education in the college of telecommunications, as well as when he worked in the company producing wooden furniture, hasn't imagined in any way that he would make clocks. But it happened that four years ago Konstantin with his friend have opened a company of watches wholesale trade. Two years later the friends purchased their own retail watch-shop. The business was successful enough, may be because of the fact, that watches were interesting for him not only as a subject of trade, but also as a complicated and wonderful movement.

The trade business encouraged him also to study watches structure. Like any other company, their firm has confronted with spoilage and faultiness, that ought to be eliminated. "For the very first time, there were some difficulties with payments to masters, and I decided to try to repair watches myself. There was nobody to teach me, that's why I experienced everything by the way of trials and mistakes, - says Konstantin. - Watches, repair and all related matters have turned into my hobby, I began to accumulate instruments, literature on watches. And in a certain moment an idea appeared: why not to do clocks myself?"

The first model that Chaykin has manufactured - a golden wristwatch, a present to his father for his birthday. To say the truth, only the case and the watch-face were indeed made by the author, and he mounted an ETA movement (although with several modified details and with a hand-made engraving - in the best traditions of prestigious European marks). It has proved to be a touchstone in creation of the first own movement.

The first Russian tourbillon

A detailed acquaintance with different types of movements that ought to be repaired and with numerous literature on watchmaking resulted in a thought: to make clock with a tourbillon. For simplicity sake a tourbillon for a table clock was calculated, the movement of Vesna (Spring) was taken as the base. "There is nothing complicated in clock construction. There are excellent books of George Daniels and Donald De Carle, describing the working principle of a movement and calculation of its construction, and it's possible to find in Internet many sites, dedicated to clocks construction, and even to load special programs for calculation of different details of the movement", Konstantin says. But to calculate clocks (it was easy for Konstantin, having engineering education) - is one matter, and to manufacture it is quite another.

Being not sure in his possibilities, Konstantin addressed a proposal of co-operation to one of the best masters-restorers of St.-Petersburg, known by the fact that he was able to manufacture any detail of the movement. The latter for the beginning agreed to take part in the project and to manufacture all the necessary components on conditions of work payment by Chaykin, but later he refused as the task has shown to be beyond his power. Then Konstantin began to realize a project by himself: "I was burning with enthusiasm at that time, it seemed to me, that it's possible to make a clock during one week".

Then a possibility appeared very opportunely to purchase a machine Bergeon - relatively cheap, only $11 000. However, it became clear, that it's necessary to purchase for it a lot of different accessories, which demanded 17 000 francs more. The expenses would be even more larger, but for a possibility to purchase at the Petrodvorets watch-factory all the necessary equipment for quite a symbolic price.

There was not a back-way: money is invested, a result is necessary. Manufacturing of details consumed 5 months instead of one week. "After one month a prototype was ready. It was made "from improvised means", but the main matter was the fact, that the carriage was moving! Four months more were necessary to manufacture already a normal tourbillon. I will not describe them - there are many technical minuteness, drawings, matters of resistance of materials and physics, I will only say that it wasn't easy. Some times I was losing my heart, I wished to smash to pieces the whole thingummy with a hammer to the hell."

A table tourbillon is easier to make, than a wrist one, because its details are larger. However, their weight is also bigger, and together with the chosen construction (so-called "flying" tourbillon, i.e. fixed only in one point, not in two ones) it created additional problems with the balancing sliding member. Properties of carriage material have also had an effect: titanium, chosen because of its durability and lightness, proved to be very difficult to process. In order to drill one opening several tap borers were necessary, and it became inevitable to insert stones in brass bushes, otherwise they were cracked in hard titanium. But nevertheless a complexity of the task was compensated by an impressive result: a clock-skeleton (a glass case was also made by Chaykin himself) with a titanium tourbillon.

Master of Complications in Russian

The master himself says that it's only beginning. For example, he isn't satisfied with movement precision, and a work is now coming on a model with a tourbillon and a fusee. The next stage is clocks with different indicators, for example, with a calendar, a 24-hours dial, running reserve and others. The only matter forcing Chaykin to doubt is: would he able to manufacture a pocket watch with a tourbillon, because for make it very uncommon and expensive equipment is necessary.

The first Russian tourbillon is absolutely non-commercial project. It's unlikely to help the author in his business, it would remain rather a unique hobby. And Chaykin himself isn't burning with desire to earn money on it. "I didn't set any commercial purposes. I simply wanted to show that everything that was made by Daniels, Frank Muller and others, could be as well manufactured in Russia. Repeaters, eternal calendars - all this could be made here, one needs only a wish. It's a pity, that our factories don't want or can't to create anything like this. And it's not so hardly - what I made (not a specialist), is very easier to make for the specialist", Konstantin says.

A young clockmaker refers to members of AHCI (Horological Academy of Independent Creators) as to his cult-figures. And who knows, if Chaykin would continue his work just so successfully, may be, very soon in this prestigious association the first Master of Complications from Russia will appear.
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Liza Yepifanova
«Chasovoy Business», No 3/2004

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The Centre of Watch&Clock Restoration
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