A sweet plastic smell hangs in the air as I stroll through one of Guangzhou’s huge department stores. On the walls I see neck massage pillows, adapters for all kinds of smartphones, and flashing toys that make me wonder how the store owners don’t go crazy when they hear that little toy dog squeak for the fifth hundredth time.
Right next to the electronics store I enter the “watch department”. I’m presented with Cartier, Rolex and TAG Heuer watches from within a toolbox with three expandable shelves. At least that is what the watches claim to be. This toolbox can be quickly hidden in case the authorities come for an inspection. By now the authenticity question should be as clear as the food I had the night before — I have no idea what I’m getting. Just swallow the marinated jellyfish.
What really is Chinese watchmaking?
The above story expresses a cliché that many probably have in their minds. “Chinese watches are rip-offs”. I, too, am guilty of having a mixed reputation for Chinese watchmaking in my head. But why is that?
My perception is not the common reality. This is where the Atelier Wen Perception challenges what you think you know about Chinese watchmaking. You’re probably already wearing a lot of Chinese watch parts on your wrist. Packaging, bracelets, cases… Many brands try to hide the fact that their parts are made in China so as not to destroy the romantic image of the Swiss watchmaker carefully adjusting your watch in a cottage in a Jura valley. What if a brand flipped the switch and wrote “Proudly made in China” on its watch to celebrate its craftsmanship? This is what Atelier Wen wants to do.
”When you approach people and you tell them it’s made in China, they look at you and they’ll tell you, oh, it must be a replica or it must be low quality. So the reason we created this brand is to show that it doesn’t have to be like that. There are so many talented craftsmen in China, the quality can be really nice.” Robin Tallendier, Atelier Wen Is Proudly Made In China (hodinkee.com)
Source
atelierdegriff.com
The market for Chinese luxury brands
According to an industry report by Daxue Consulting, since 2017, the Chinese government has been pushing to preserve and promote local craftsmanship as a tool for industrial upgrading, letting many Chinese luxury brands emerge. These brands are perfectly in line with the current “quiet luxury” trend, which favors elegance, simplicity, and refinement over flashy logos. Goods such as baijiu (Chinese liquor), tea, porcelain, and silk are already established, but industries such as furniture, watches, and jewelry are growing.
The Perception challenges your perception
Meet the Perception, the latest model of the French-Chinese brand Atelier Wen. Unwavering quality and a design that’s proudly Chinese. Atelier is French for workshop. Wen (文) is the Chinese word for culture. Atelier Wen, the “Culture Workshop”. This French-Chinese fusion was initiated by Wilfried Buiron and Robin Tallendier, who met at Peking University in Beijing. Both wanted to create their own brand that combines traditional Chinese craftmanship and modern luxury.
Hand-engraved guilloché dial
The star of the show is undoubtedly the dial, with its guilloche pattern resembling fish scales. Most brands in this price range produce such a dial by stamping or using a CNC machine. This dial is hand-engraved by Cheng Yu Cai, China’s only master of guilloché, and he spends 8 hours on each dial.
Source
Atelier Wen
Source
Atelier Wen
Source
Atelier Wen
Source
Atelier Wen
Since the craft is so rare, there are few places to even learn this skill. Cheng Yu Cai is not only self-taught, but built and reverse-engineered his own rose engine lathes, for which he also filed a patent in China.
The dial follows a sǔn mǎo (榫卯) approach, an ancient Chinese form of construction that relies on friction-based assembly rather than the use of glue or nails. The 4-part construction consists of a base layer upon which the guilloché plate sits. Its indexes nest precisely into 12 cutouts and are locked in place by a raised chapter ring.
The leaf-shaped hands on the Perception Ying are heat-blued and filled with Super-Luminova X1.
Green tea leaves. Maybe the leaf-shaped hands are a nod to Chinese tea culture?
The outer ring of the dial is a huí (回) pattern, which not only looks nice, but also divides the hour into minutes and the minute into seconds. Patterns like this can be found in many places in Chinese architecture or porcelain.
Source
shansantiques.com
Case shaped like a roof
If you look at some Chinese temples, you’ll immediately recognize the characteristic roof shapes and angles in the case design of the Perception.
The case is made of 904L steel, which allows for a more refined finish compared to the more commonly used 316L steel. The case is incredibly thin with an overall height of only 9.4 mm. Still, you get 10 bar water resistance (100 meters).
The case has either a steel or rubber strap that is made specifically for the case. Both fit snugly and have no play. They can also be changed with an easy-to-use quick-release system, so no tools are needed to change the strap. The bracelet and strap taper from 22 mm at the case down to 18 mm at the clasp.
Bracelet options
I chose the rubber strap for this review, but the Perception is also available on a steel bracelet. By pressing the logo on the clasp, you can adjust the length of the strap without having to take the watch off. You may be familiar with this mechanism from other luxury brands such as Glashütte Original, IWC or A. Lange & Söhne with their Odysseus model. It works great, and if it keeps the clasp slim, I’d love to see it used by more brands.
Source
atelierwen.com
The clasp of the rubber strap is a milled Atelier Wen logo and provides a nice way to lock the watch in place. The rubber strap is released by a double pusher on each side of the strap.
The clasp on the rubber strap doesn’t have an on-the-fly adjustment, but the deployment system still extends through an extendable blade. This ensures that you can easily slide the watch over your wrist. If you have big hands and small wrists, you know what I’m talking about.
With only 9.4mm the Perception sits incredibly flat on the wrist. The 40mm really are a universal size here. 17.5 cm (6.9 in) wrist.
A 100% Chinese movement
Ticking inside of the Perception is the SL1588 from the Chinese manufacturer Liaoning Peacock Watch Company. Atelier Wen wanted their watch to be very thin. At that time, only Swiss movements like Lemania or Vaucher would have been able to support the slim case dimensions. If you want your watch to be Chinese, the heart can’t be Swiss. So the team behind Atelier Wen partnered with Peacock, which just introduced its SL1 line at only 3.4 mm thickness. For comparison, the Sellita SW200-1 with its rotor is 35% thicker at 4.6 mm. Just over a millimeter doesn’t sound a lot, but is visually noticeable.
In contrast to the beautifully finished watch, the movement finishing was rather basic. The power reserve was a bit too low with 38 hours. Its accuracy didn’t match the luxury appeal of the Perception, fluctuating between –15 to +25 seconds per day. Peacock took up the challenge and came up with the aforementioned SL1588. The result was a high-end finish, 41 hours of power reserve and an accuracy of ±10 seconds before being regulated again. Since the regulation is done in 5 positions in hot, cold and ambient temperatures, I expect the final movement to run even more accurate, although I wasn’t able to verify this. The SL1588 beats exclusively in Atelier Wen’s Perception.
Source
atelierwen.com
Source
atelierwen.com
Source
atelierwen.com
The Chinese SL1588 movement from Liaoning Peacock Watch Company which is powering the Perception.
The watch does not allow to hack seconds, which would have been the icing on the rice cake. But you can’t have it all. Operating the watch, winding it, setting the time – everything felt sturdy and qualitative.
The result of many small improvements
I am a fan of “building in the open”. Authors sharing first drafts of their book. Seeing how something is made, the countless iterations, paths not taken and early prototypes – until you finally see the result and know how many small decisions shaped the final product. That is what I love about watchmaking but very few brands follow this approach, often times the smaller ones. Atelier Wen involved their community early on and shared their iteration results. I read about clasps being too bulky, rubber straps that were not comfortable, people’s doubts about a Chinese movement, the lume did not shine bright enough or the bracelet finishing not matching the quality of the case finishing. Read more about the many changes made to the Perception here. It takes a lot to admit early mistakes and show how you have improved. I think this gives a lot of confidence for the future of Atelier Wen.
I am a big fan of the Perception, the design and quality is exactly like something that I would wear. Like any new watch brand, Atelier Wen now has to prove that they’re set up for longevity. A movement from a Chinese company might mean that servicing it will be a bit more difficult for European or American customers, although they outline a straightforward shipping process in their Frequently Asked Questions section. I believe that their movement manufacturer Liaoning Peacock Watch Company will still be around for many years to come, but getting individual crowns, wheels or pinions might be a bit more difficult compared to a standard Sellita. What happens if the guilloché dial gets damaged because I fall off my bike? Will I be able to replace that part in 7 years?
I think any small brand needs to have a plan to deal with these after-sales issues. If you’re really worried about service and having access to parts in 20 years, just get a Tudor. Even then, it’s not a given that Rolex’ sister company will be around. At the end of the day, you’re always trading watchmaking passion and exclusivity for a somewhat blurry view of a brand’s future. The reward of having a beautiful piece of industrial design on the wrist then makes up for that. The Perception is such an object and has really defined an interesting niche with its “proudly made in China” approach. Gānbēi to that.
Write a comment