telier Wen introduces Ancestra, 蛟 (JIĀO), the inaugural edition in the brand’s new collection that reinterprets ancient Chinese mythology through a renewed take on the classic dress watch.Rooted in the fascinating narrative of the Hongshan jade dragon, mankind’s very first recorded depiction of a dragon, 蛟 (JIĀO) fuses contemporary design with deep cultural significance.

Translating directly to “culture workshop”, Atelier Wen combines the French word for workshop, atelier, and the Chinese word for culture, wén (文). It is the brainchild of two French Sinophiles with deep-seated ties to China, Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, who were brought together by their shared passions for Chinese culture, watches and a desire to create something novel and innovative centered around exceptional watchmaking.

蛟 (JIĀO) features a grand feu enamel dial crafted by the workshop of Kong Lingjun — one of China’s very finest and most renowned enamel maisons. Executed in a fumé effect that ranges from pale silver in the middle to a deep cobalt at its circumference, 蛟 (JIĀO)’s grand feu enamel dial features meticulous hand-hammering (martelé) on its 925 silver dial base.

Great care needs to be taken during this process to ensure both consistent depth and an even distribution of the individual depressions. The selection of a finer hammered texture adds complexity to this process, and accounting for a high rejection rate due to Kong’s meticulous standards, each successful hammered dial base takes approximately two days to complete.

The enamel layers begin as a raw and unrefined mix of quartz, feldspar, borax, and other minerals that are first melted in a high-temperature furnace and then rapidly cooled in water to form glass-like fragments. These fragments are ground by hand and sieved into a fine powder that is mixed with water and applied as a paste onto the dial blanks. Extreme care must be taken to ensure that the particle size is consistent and the paste is distributed evenly, or the enamel runs a high risk of cracking.

Once each layer has been left to dry, it is then fired at temperatures between 750 and 850°C, and the entire process is repeated a further 5 times until the right colours are achieved. The process is made even more complex by the hammered format of the dial base and its tendency to warp unevenly. The unique colour and wide range of shades in the gradient of the dial also pose significant difficulty due to the delicate and unpredictable task of creating exact tone and equally distributed bands of colour throughout these combined layers.

Once the desired colour tone is achieved, the dial is then polished down into the flat, glossy surface that grand feu enamel is revered for. Each dial takes approximately 20 days to complete from the beginning of the process, and has a high failure rate of about 50%.

The multiple enamel layers result in a visually arresting texture reminiscent of deep seas. With the sea being the traditional dwelling place of the dragon kings in Chinese mythology, this feeds back into the cultural inspirations that extend throughout this launch edition. Due to the artisanal nature of each individual dial, the gradient of this “sea” varies slightly in each iteration, making each watch ostensibly unique.

Kong’s workshop sets itself apart amongst the landscape of Chinese enamelers by focusing almost exclusively on producing enamel dials rather than other, more traditional applications of the craft. This specialisation — and consequent mastery of the dial — led to his workshop earning the National designation of “中国珐琅手表 (北京) 制 造中心” (China Enamel Watch [Beijing] Manufacturing Center) by the China Horologe Association (中国钟表协会, CHA), the official body overseeing China’s watch industry, in 2021, thereby recognising his workshop as the foremost dial enameler in all of China.

The Ancesta series draws inspiration from the earliest depiction of a dragon known to man — the Hongshan culture’s carved jade dragons (猪龙 zhū lóng). Ancesta’s case and lugs reinterpret these ancient artifacts in the form of elegant, detached lugs that are screwed externally onto the case. The sinuous, lugs mirror the curves of the jade dragon, secured with internal screws and intricately engraved, external bolts featuring a traditional Chinese 回纹 (huí wén) motif.

Designed by Sifan Guo and Alfred Chan, the 38mm case is constructed from 904L stainless steel, offering a rich contrast of brushed and polished surfaces, and the detached construction enables us to imbue the watch with extremely sharp transitions between contrasting finishing treatments.

Ancesta marks Atelier Wen’s first venture beyond the Chinese watchmaking ecosystem, housing a heavily customized Pequignet Calibre EPM03. This modern automatic movement boasts a 65-hour power reserve, 21 jewels, and chronometer-grade accuracy (-4/+6 seconds per day with an average of +/-2s) that comfortably meets the standards of the Observatoire Chronométrique de Besançon. The movement possesses a patented tooth profile within the winding assembly, in which the incline on the teeth of the winding pinion aids in delivering improved efficiency and reduced wear and tear. It also benefits from a bi-directional pawl-based “Pellaton” winding system — as opposed to being fully gear-reliant, leading to far greater effectiveness in energy transmission during winding and durability in its function.

Atelier Wen has worked closely with Pequignet to enhance the movement’s aesthetic and ensure it remains true to the brand’s mission of shining a light on Chinese culture. For this launch edition, 蛟 (JIĀO)’s movement features a deeply micro-etched main bridge featuring a poetic re-envisioning of the Chinese manuscript 天问 (Questions to Heaven). Attributed to the poet Qu Yuan 屈原 (340–278 BCE), it is framed as a series of poetic questions directed towards heaven, and invokes early Chinese shamanistic mythologies, themes of creation, the interplay of yin and yang and celestial phenomena that supplement the foundational inspirations that Ancesta’s design draws from.

The three-quarter bridge is finished to a high degree, and is complemented by a black-polished ratchet return wheel and balance bridge that contrast starkly with the text that surrounds them. Its tungsten rotor has also been skeletonised in order to maximise the visibility of this beautiful new movement through the sapphire caseback. The rotor is plated in a 1.5 micron thick layer of 5N rose gold.

Beyond the technical excellence of its dial, case and movement, Ancesta 蛟 (JIĀO) is a showcase of refinement and painstaking care for detail. Among other things, it marks the debut of an original handset from the brand with an extraordinarily voluminous, 0.45mm thick profile that lends the already abyssal dial even more depth. Plated in rhodium, the “leaf”-shaped hour and minute hands feature a frosted mid-plane and wide, concave, mirror-polished bevels, catching the light with its subtle interplay of finishes.

The dial is further elevated by calligraphed hour markers, specially commissioned from the talents of Hong Kong calligraphy artist Elaine Wong. These feature on all odd markers, alternating with baguette-cut diamonds that distribute the dial’s visual weight and add a touch of additional refinement. 蛟 (JIĀO) will also be offered in an alternate variant with Western-Arabic numerals featuring on all even markers. These will once more be alternated with diamonds, and are executed in an original font designed by Lee Yuen-Rapati, drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese bamboo paintings. Protecting these twin variants is a double-domed sapphire crystal with five layers of anti-reflective coating ensuring both durability and visual clarity.

Ancesta 蛟 (JIĀO) will come on a hand-stitched full-grain leather strap, crafted with a luxurious Epsom upper and a Zermatt lining of alpine calfskin from Tanneries Haas. It features a meticulously finished steel buckle with hand-applied, mirror-polished bevels and fine brushing, as well as a traditional lacquer seal on its interior.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Calibre

• Heavily-customised Pequignet Calibre EPM03
• 3/4 bridge with circular, deeply micro-etched Chinese manuscript
• Bi-directional, automatic winding
• 21 jewels
• 28,800 bph
• 65 hour power reserve
• -4/+6s per day (with an average of +/-2s per day)
• Adjusted in 6 positions and to three temperatures.
• Hacking seconds

Case

• 38mm diameter x 46mm lug-to-lug x 11.3mm (including crystal
• 904L stainless steel case
• Detached lug construction
• Finely decorated in mixed finishes with exceptional attention to detail
• Double domed sapphire crystal with 5 layers of anti-reflective coating
• See-through sapphire caseback with 5 layers of anti-reflective coating
• Screw-down crown

Dial

• Hand-hammered silver dial with fumé grand feu enamel in a radial gradient ranging from near-white to deep cobalt
• Calligraphed Chinese numerals for alternating odd hour- markers (Baguette-cut diamonds for alternate variant)
• Baguette-cut diamonds for alternating even markers (Western-Arabic, bamboo painting inspired markers for alternate variant)
• Tri-planed, rhodium-plated “leaf” hands with frosted mid- plane and high-polished, deeply concave side planes

Strap

• 20mm width, tapering to 16mm at the buckle
• Hand-stitched, full-grain leather strap with Epsom upper and Zermatt lining
• Stainless steel buckle with hand-applied, mirror-polished bevels and fine brushing

Water Resistance

• 100m/10 ATM

Limited Release

• 7-day limited order window

Price

• US$5,850 (Excl. taxes & duties)

Delivery

• Q2, 2026