Atelier Wen
- Founded
- 2018
- Based in
- Shanghai, China
- In our catalog
- 1 watch from $4,800 to $4,900
Atelier Wen set out to show what Chinese watchmaking can do at a high level, at a time when "made in China" mostly meant cheap. Its watches are designed and built in China, with dials engraved by Chinese craftsmen, and they have earned real respect from collectors who usually look only at Swiss and Japanese brands.
History
The brand was founded by two Frenchmen, Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, who met while studying in Beijing and shared an interest in Chinese watchmaking. Their first collection, the Porcelain Odyssey, came out in 2018 with dials made from porcelain by craftsmen in Jingdezhen, the historic porcelain city. It sold out fast.
The next step was the Perception, an integrated-bracelet steel watch with a hand-guilloché dial produced in the workshop of engraver Cheng Yucai. The early versions used a customized Chinese movement from Dandong. The Perception has gone through several generations, each refining the case and finishing. Atelier Wen has also started an annual series of experimental limited editions called Millésime.
Signature models
- Perception V3: The current version of the flagship. A slim steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet and a dial engraved on a hand-operated rose engine in a pattern based on traditional Chinese motifs. It uses an automatic movement from Pequignet in France, with about 65 hours of power reserve.
- Porcelain Odyssey: The original collection with porcelain dials, a nod to Jingdezhen's centuries-old craft.
- Perception Millésime: Yearly limited editions with unusual dial colors and materials such as titanium.
What it's known for
Hand guilloché at a price where you normally get stamped dials. The engraved patterns catch the light in a way machine-stamped dials can't, and the brand openly celebrates the Chinese artisans behind them. It's also part of a wider story: a growing community of collectors who take Chinese-made watches seriously.
Price and positioning
Atelier Wen watches cost from a few thousand dollars up to around $5,000 for the current Perception. That puts them up against Swiss watches like the Tissot PRX Powermatic's bigger siblings and well into Christopher Ward and Nomos territory. The argument for buying one is the dial and the story rather than the brand name.
Atelier Wen watches in our library
- Atelier Wen Perception V3 ($4,800 to $4,900)