There is a point, contemplating Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, where the painting seems to suspend time: the moment when the goddess appears, fragile and radiant, as if light itself generated her. It’s an image that continues to resonate through the centuries and today finds unexpected transposition in contemporary watchmaking.
From that archetype of beauty and rebirth takes shape “Venus,” the new limited edition created by Konstantin Chaykin in collaboration with GMT Great Masters of Time. A project that not only reinterprets an absolute masterpiece of Italian art, but also becomes a symbol of concrete commitment: one of the two prototypes will in fact be auctioned on December 11, 2025 in Florence, with the entire proceeds going to LILT – Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro i Tumori.
Chaykin’s stylistic signature
In the universe of independent watchmaking, Konstantin Chaykin occupies a singular position. A watchmaker, inventor and conceptual artist, he is one of the few contemporary makers capable of combining mechanical rigor and symbolic imagination with instantly recognizable identity.
A founder of his own manufacture and a member of the AHCI, he has over time conceived creations ranging from the famous Wristmons to the thinnest mechanical watch ever made in Russia, as well as complications that have made their mark on modern watchmaking.
The idea from which Venus will sprout emerges as early as 2018, shortly after the Wristmons’ debut. It remains latent, however, awaiting a creative turning point that will come in 2024 with Goddess of Time Tempa, a painting that was later sold at auction and became the figurative matrix from which the entire project made with GMT would develop.
Venus’ “erotomorphic” aesthetic
In introducing Venus, Chaykin introduces the world’s first watch with an “erotomorphic” design: the female body as an architecture that integrates and structures the measurement of time. But the provocation remains subtle, restrained, calibrated. The soft lines, lunar face, wavy hair and reference to the Botticellian shell compose a figure that alludes without ostentation, evokes without forcing. Venus, the second light of the sky after Sun and Moon, here becomes an icon that blends mythology, astronomy and a sublimated sensuality, more philosophical than descriptive.
The collaboration with brothers Jacopo and Mattia Corvo has its roots in 2023. The goal was to create a watch that spoke both the language of Renaissance art and that of contemporary independent watchmaking. After two years of development, the result is a 40mm steel timepiece where the hours, minutes, and moon phases are integrated directly into the silhouette of the goddess.
The dial, dominated by GMT’s characteristic 4N rose gold shade, is a mosaic of guilloché workings in which the Wristmons module is rethought to fit the new anatomical profile. The sub-dials are precisely calibrated, while the moon phase disc finds its place in the center of the stylized body, defined by a blue hue that surrounds the moon.
The movement is the K.18-25 caliber, based on the La Joux-Perret G200, with 68 hours of power reserve. A single crown, discreet and perfectly aligned at 3 o’clock, preserves the purity of the lines, while the thin bezel amplifies the perception of the dial and overall readability.
A philanthropic project
The decision to earmark one of the two prototypes for a charity auction is a founding value of the project. As the Corvo brothers tell it, Venus is a tribute to beauty, but it is above all a celebration of life and its fragility. A symbol that finds natural resonance in the mission of LILT, which has been committed to cancer prevention and patient support for more than a century.
The watch will go into production in 2026, in only 99 pieces, available exclusively through GMT Great Masters of Time and Chaykin’s manufacture.
Conclusions
Venus marks a relevant moment not only in Konstantin Chaykin’s creative journey, but also in the evolution of GMT Great Masters of Time. The collaboration with Jacopo and Mattia Corvo demonstrates how a shared project can generate a broader expressive language: from the interpretation of myth to the definition of a new aesthetic, to the construction of a timepiece that finds its strength in mechanics and visual coherence.
The decision to auction off one of the prototypes to benefit LILT adds an additional dimension to the project. It is not an ancillary gesture, but a natural extension of the Venus theme: a work that celebrates beauty and, at the same time, concretely supports the protection of life and health. The watch thus becomes a vehicle for awareness as well as a collector’s item.
The new Venus aspires to surprise through the eccentricity and solidity of its message: a work capable of speaking to the collector, the art lover and those who see independent watchmaking as a place where ideas, forms and values can converge with authenticity.
Visit our Youtube channel to experience the best of the world of watchmaking firsthand.
For all real-time updates follow us on Instagram.
