If you are unfamiliar with the work of Russian watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin, and particularly if technical ingenuity is an important consideration in curating your watch collections, there are a few things you ought to know. Chaykin already holds 17 patents for watch and clock complications and the company has 26 calibres of its own – more than many watchmakers with more than a century behind them have yet achieved.

The Levitas by Konstantin Chaykin, presented here on The Limited Edition, is the next step in the quest for levitation as applied to watch making. Chaykin’s timepiece features levitating hours and minutes hands, inspired by the device that first mastered the hiding of the movement: the mystery clock created by 19th century inventor and magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. The superb see-through dial and the empty 18K pink gold case underneath dramatically accentuate the magical floating element, leaving the viewer to guess, wondering at this visual marvel.

Where is that movement?

The timepiece wraps itself around the circumference of the watchcase, an extremely complex and unique movement hidden behind the half-moon dial where the sapphire crystal itself becomes an energy conductor, channelling power to those flying hands.

For centuries we have been fascinated by the art of magicians and this is a truly incredible watch to look at, visually challenging the mind like all the greatest illusions. But perhaps, while there is mystery, there should be no surprise; this is Konstantin Chaykin, with its unique talent and the ability to take watchmaking to the boundaries of knowledge and creativity, driven by passion for the extreme.