The Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Time-Eater Returns with an Appetite and a Tourbillon
Many watches are designed to perform specific tasks or serve specific purposes beyond telling the time. Divers have bold markers and ratcheting bezels, pilot watches are oversized and might include a second time zone, track watches feature chronographs or tachymeters, etc, and then, there’s the Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Time-Eaters. Featuring a giant eyeball for the hour hand, a spinning set of teeth for the seconds, and a double-sided arm that’s giving a one-finger salute, they don’t seek to fulfill a practical purpose. Instead, I’d classify them as “memento absurdum,” which is to say, objects that remind you of the absurdity, whether in life or watch collecting.
If you’re thinking, “Now, wait a second, didn’t they just come out with a new Time Eater like a few days ago?” you’d be correct. A 42mm model with a navy blue chapter ring and a darker silver than previous versions, it was a handsome, if iterative, addition. But the Time-Eater is back once again, this time with a substantial change: it now has a tourbillon. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Louis Erard use a tourbillon movement, specifically the “affordable for a tourbillon” BCP T02 by Olivier Mory, which appeared on a few of their Alain Silberstein collabs.
The Time-Eater Tourbillon (TET from here out) is basically a reedition of one of the first two Time-Eaters, which was initially introduced in either a 39mm case with a purple chapter ring, or a 42mm case with a green chapter ring. Based on the latter, the TET’s only visual difference is the tourbillon visible at six. Rather than featuring a rotating set of teeth, which is cleverly created by using a spiked disc as the negative space, the maw is open, rimmed with teeth, exposing the tourbillon within. Instead of the teeth appearing to rotate, as the tourbillon makes one revolution per minute, a tongue has been attached, acting as a seconds hand.
An amusingly rude combination between the wagging tongue and the flipped bird, the TET is genuinely a piece of absurd horology. Priced at 19,900 CHF, which is equivalent to over $20,000 at the current exchange rate, the TET is a Swiss-made luxury timepiece, clearly, yet it seems to mock the very idea of its existence. It says to you, the owner, “Are you for real? Did you really spend 20k on a watch that’s flipping you off?” And yet, it’s that very act of defiance that makes it so charming.
Limited to 78 pieces in green, available through Louis Erard, and 20 pieces in blue, available through Konstantin Chaykin, this is a memorable launch. It’s pretty rare for the Swiss watch industry to have a laugh at its own expense, which is something the industry needs more of. Louis Erard
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