Atelier Wen accomplished its mission during the week of Watches and Wonders Geneva to show that Chinese watchmaking can be every bit as innovative and artistic as its peers in Switzerland.
Atelier Wen aims to tackle the stigma of manufacturing in China. Even its name is an olive branch to the Swiss — combining the French word for workshop, Atelier, with the Chinese word for culture, Wen (文).
The brand’s co-founders, Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, are both French with deep connections to China, and are determined to blend Chinese and French culture, art and engineering in their watches.
“At Atelier Wen, we have made it our mission to celebrate and elevate the global perceptions of Chinese culture and craftsmanship. Through our partnerships with some of the finest artisans, artists, designers and watchmakers in all of China, we seek to push the boundaries of what Chinese watchmaking can be. In collaborating with these individuals, we aim to breathe life back into forgotten Chinese crafts, inspiring a new generation of undeniably-Chinese style and watchmaking artistry,” Mr Tallendier says.
Atelier Wen’s first collection focused on the production of art on perfect porcelain for the dials of its Porcelain Odyssey watches.
That line has now been discontinued as the business focuses on its more sporty Perception family, which showcases hand-turned guilloché work by China’s only master craftsman in the art, Cheng Yucai.
Star of its Geneva showcase was a prototype of its Perception watch made from tantalum, a metal with the darker grey hue of titanium, but as heavy as platinum and harder than surgical grade stainless steel.
Tantalum is rarely used in watchmaking because it is much harder to mill and finish than steel or precious metals.
Two brands have made one-off models in the metal, but it is typically seen as two hard to work with. Making a bracelet as well as a watch case from Tantalum, as Atelier Wen is doing, is rarer still.
Atelier Wen believes it can make more than 500 units of its Perception in tantalum in its first year of production.
During its week in Geneva, the brand also demonstrated its world class skills in guilloché using traditional rose engine machinery and the expertise of Cheng Yucai, the only guilloché master craftsman on the Asian continent.
Mr Cheng was even in Geneva demonstrating his craft and producing dials for complete watches that were playfully inscribed with “Crafted in Geneva”.
Over the course of the five days, he managed to make three dials, which were then cased-up by Atelier Des Doct’Heures Horlogerie, the workshop of local watchmaker, Fabiano Pericles, in Geneva.
Future collectibles, perhaps?
