Spotting the next sell-out limited edition that will both delight its owner and hold its value over time has become something of a sport within the watch collecting community.
Spotting an emerging independent watchmaker who will make waves for decades is even more satisfying, and has been fueling the recent growth in excitement for discovering microbrands that could shape future trends.
Atelier Wen has become one of these brands to watch thanks to its use of historic horological techniques like making guilloché by hand using vintage equipment and breaking new ground with innovative materials such as tantalum, a silvery-grey metal that is harder than titanium but has a similar heft to gold.
Catching the eye of influential retailers and journalists is an important sign that a hot independent is making waves, and Atelier Wen has been backed by the likes of Hodinkee, WatchPro and Revolution, which collaborated on a trilogy of special editions of its flagship Perception watch earlier this year.
Its latest piece is another limited-edition Perception, this time with the Chinese name ‘睦 (Mù)’, which translates roughly as kinship or closeness.
The watch has a bold purple guilloché dial and comes in a grade 5 titanium case measuring 40mm x 47mm and standing 9.4mm tall, including its double-domed sapphire crystal.
First pre-orders were taken in October for delivery in May for the $3,588+taxes watch, which will be the first of what Atelier Wen is calling its Millésime editions, which will be a series of experimental models released every year at around the same time.
The company is proudly Chinese-based and is using a customized Dandong SL1588A automatic movement from its home country, but with high end Swiss decoration including circular côtes-de-Genève, perlage and anglage polishing.
A partially-open engraved case back gives a glimpse of the movement with it tungsten rotor in purple rhodium plating.
As an extra incentive to get your name down for the watch is to enter a draw where three lucky winners will have their Perception in purple upgrades from a titanium piece with integrated bracelet to a version in full-tantalum.
Atelier Wen has been experimenting with tantalum for a number of years. The metal is notoriously difficult to mill, and has never been used by a watchmaker for a full production line collection.
The company hopes to break through this barrier and introduce a full tantalum line. The three winners of the Perception Purple draw will be part of a journey of discovery as it refines it processes.
“We will ultimately be the very first brand to go to market with a non-limited full-tantalum timepiece on a bracelet very soon, and these prototypes are refined versions of the ones we exhibited in Geneva back in April during Watches and Wonders,” says Robin Tallendier, founder of Atelier Wen.
The three Perception Purple prototype tantalum watches will never be produced again, making them highly rare and more collectible.
In addition to entering the draw for three tantalum pieces, the first 88 customers for the watch will also receive a complimentary integrated full-grain leather strap designed to fit Perception’s case.