-ADiN.jpg&w=347&h=240&crop-to-fit)
In 2017, 22-year-old Wilfried Buiron and Robin Tallendier, two friends living in Beijing at the time, decided to launch their own micro-brand, Atelier Wen, as a way to celebrate Chinese watchmaking and culture. Their Kickstarter campaign was a success, raising just over US$100,000 ($130,000) — enough to complete the delivery of all 500 pieces of its debut watch, the Porcelain Odyssey. The collection, including its three follow-up limited editions, has since been retired. These days, Atelier Wen is better known for its second series and flagship design: The Perception. With an integrated bracelet design, hand-guilloche dial, and an ultra-thin, modified Dandong movement from Peacock, the Perception proudly carries the torch for the "Made in China" label.
WATCHES & STYLE
Atelier Wen Aims to Change Perceptions on China-Made Luxury Watches
09 Oct 2024
Chinese watch brand Atelier Wen is entering its next phase, starting with a startling tantalum creation.
Remember Atelier Wen? If you don’t, it’s likely you’ve never heard of them in the first place. Because a luxury Chinese watch brand founded by two young Frenchmen is not exactly something that simply falls out of one’s mind.
Atelier Wen Titanium
Since the Perception's launch in 2022, the brand has taken a deliberate approach, opting to gather feedback from its enthusiastic fan base before releasing an updated version last year. Now, Atelier Wen is finally venturing into exciting new territory. This month, a new Perception model will launch in titanium with a purple dial, making it Atelier Wen’s first in-house limited edition. The watch will be available for purchase exclusively from 7 to 21 October 2024 from its website.
“This will be the first to kick off what we call the ‘Millesieme’, like the French term for ‘vintage’,” shares Buiron, who was recently in town to give the keynote speech for Asian alcohol expo Jiu Asia, for which Atelier Wen is also official watch partner. “This will allow us to do something funkier for our collectors once a year.”
(Related: Go beyond the usual black or white watch faces with these cool and colourful options)
-
-
Atelier Wen tantalum-cased timepiece
The combination of titanium and purple is currently very much on-trend, but the real thrill is that Atelier Wen intends to become the first brand to serially produce a fully tantalum watch. Machining tantalum is devilishly difficult – arguably more so than titanium, which is really saying something – making tantalum-cased watches a rare find in the market. To date, only Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar has featured a matching tantalum bracelet, and that was a unique piece created for Only Watch 2022.
“We did a proof of concept in Geneva with a purple dial, but when the real piece is launched next year, it will look quite different,” says Buiron, adding that he had shared images of the prototype with the Atelier Wen community. To his surprise, demand for the prototype was overwhelming. “So, we decided to release the purple dial in titanium instead as a limited edition, but three lucky buyers will end up with one of the tantalum prototypes.”
Buiron also teased future models that will feature enamel, lacquer, mother-of-pearl, and silk embroidery, the first of which will be announced in 2025. “If Chinese people are wearing Swiss watches, then Swiss people should be able to wear Chinese watches, too. That means taking traditional Chinese crafts and applying them in very modern ways, and that can be difficult,” continues Buiron. “We’ve had to do tons of iterations, and we’ve even applied for a patent because we’ve had to reinvent the way a particular craft process is done because we wanted something really special.”
But perhaps what’s always been most special about Atelier Wen is its earnest desire to promote the beauty of Chinese culture through the wider lens of haute horlogerie.
Back
