Collection: Atelier Wen Perception

Atelier Wen is an independent watch brand founded by Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, two French watch enthusiasts dedicated to elevating modern Chinese watchmaking and craftsmanship on the global stage. The brand's name reflects that mission directly: "atelier," the French word for workshop, paired with "Wen" (文), a Chinese character associated with culture and refinement. Rather than imitating Swiss design conventions, Atelier Wen builds its identity around traditional Chinese artistry, from porcelain and enamel work to hand-guilloché dial engraving.

The Perception collection was Atelier Wen's move into integrated-bracelet sport watch design, built around hand-turned guilloché dials created by master craftsman Cheng, bringing a traditional decorative technique rarely seen at this price point into a modern, collector-focused format. The result is a watch that channels the angular, integrated-bracelet sports watch look popularized in the 1970s, but with a distinctly Chinese design sensibility running through the dial work and finishing rather than a Swiss-inspired aesthetic.

King Jewelers is an authorized U.S. retailer for Atelier Wen, with the Perception collection, including the Perception Xia in stainless steel, available to pre-order or special order. Because Atelier Wen produces in smaller, independent-scale quantities, special ordering is often the best way to secure a specific dial color or configuration. Every Atelier Wen watch purchase includes free shipping, and our team can help you explore the Perception collection in person at our Green Hills showroom in Nashville or online at kingjewelers.com.

From Kickstarter to Flagship: Launching an Independent Brand
The Perception, launched in 2022, was the watch that took Atelier Wen from a promising newcomer to one of the most closely watched names in independent watchmaking. It began as a Kickstarter success, using crowdfunding to prove the concept: that Chinese craftsmanship could produce a watch capable of competing directly with established integrated-bracelet sports watches, a category long dominated by Swiss and European names. The Perception marked a deliberate departure from Atelier Wen's earlier, more overtly traditional Chinese-styled watches (like the Porcelain Odyssey), moving instead into a modern, maximalist integrated sports watch format.

Master Cheng Yucai and the Fish-Scale Dial
The Perception's defining feature is its dial, hand-turned by Cheng Yucai, widely recognized as China's first guilloché master craftsman. According to the brand, Cheng taught himself the centuries-old craft from scratch, built his own rose-engine turning machines by hand (reportedly requiring four attempts before successfully constructing one), and established a vibration-free workshop inside a cave in Xinmi, Henan province, since even a minute change in pressure or pace during the hand-turning process can ruin a dial. Each Perception dial features the brand's signature écailles de poisson (fish-scale) guilloché pattern, curved lines radiating from the dial's center, a process that takes roughly eight hours per dial to complete using a diamond-tipped chisel.

Evolving the Collection: V1 to V3

2022 — Perception launches via Kickstarter, establishing the integrated-bracelet design and Cheng Yucai's guilloché dial as the brand's signature

Early movement — Original models powered by the Dandong SL1588, a high-beat automatic movement from Liaoning Peacock Watch Company, one of the world's largest movement manufacturers, based in Dandong, sometimes called "the Geneva of the East"

Perception V2 — Refines the case and bracelet proportions to their now-definitive shape

Perception V3 (2026) — The most substantial update yet, replacing the Chinese-made Peacock movement with a customized Pequignet Calibre EPM03 from France, the same movement family used in the Ancestra and Inflection collections, alongside a new bamboo green ("Yún") dial colorway joining the existing ice blue ("Piāo") and salmon ("Xiá") options

What Defines the Perception Today
The Perception's case tapers from 22mm at the lugs to 18mm at the clasp in 904L stainless steel, with hexagonal bracelet links resting between H-links, each edge lightly polished and chamfered for comfort and articulation. Dials feature faceted, applied hour markers, a Chinese "huiwen"-patterned minute track printed in Super-LumiNova, and leaf-shaped rhodium-plated hands. The V3's Pequignet movement offers chronometer-grade accuracy (-4/+6 seconds per day) and a 65-hour power reserve, decorated with mirror-polished blue aventurine lacquer on the bridges.

At King Jewelers
King Jewelers is an authorized U.S. retailer for Atelier Wen, with the Perception collection available to pre-order or special order, including the Perception Xia in stainless steel. Because Atelier Wen produces in smaller, independent-scale quantities, special ordering is often the best way to secure a specific dial color. Every Atelier Wen watch purchase includes free shipping, and our team can help you explore the Perception collection in person at our Green Hills showroom in Nashville or online at kingjewelers.com.

The Atelier Wen Perception is available in multiple hand-guilloché dial colorways, each featuring the brand's signature fish-scale pattern, with the latest generation powered by a French Pequignet movement. King Jewelers offers the Perception to pre-order or special order for collectors seeking independent Chinese craftsmanship.

Perception Xia (stainless steel) — Integrated bracelet, hand-turned fish-scale guilloché dial by Master Cheng Yucai.

Perception V3 colorways (Piāo/ice blue, Xiá/salmon, Yún/bamboo green) — Now powered by the French Pequignet EPM03 movement, the collection's most refined generation.