First Look at the Atelier Wen Ancestra 蛟 JIĀO Watch Review

A New Direction for the French-Chinese Brand

Atelier Wen has just introduced the Ancestra — a new 38mm dress watch that marks a major departure for the brand. Best known for its integrated-bracelet Perception series, which spotlighted Chinese guilloché dials and precision-regulated domestic movements, Atelier Wen now shifts its focus toward dressier territory, bringing in new materials, new partners, and an entirely different design language. The result is Ancestra JIĀO, a time-only watch that draws inspiration from ancient Chinese dragon mythology, while integrating high-craft techniques like grand feu enamel and architectural case design.

The watch is available by limited pre-order for just seven days, starting July 29, 2025. In full transparency, Collective is an authorized retailer of Atelier Wen watches, and you can find the Ancestra — along with wide range of independent dress watches — at collectivehorology.com.

A Sculptural Case Informed by Myth

The case is made from 904L stainless steel, a high-performance alloy more commonly associated with Rolex and rarely seen in independent watchmaking. It measures 38mm in diameter, with a 46mm lug-to-lug length and 11.3mm total thickness (including the double-domed sapphire crystal). The lugs — visually distinct from the case — are detached and externally secured, a deliberate design choice inspired by the Hongshan jade dragon, an ancient artifact considered the earliest visual representation of the Chinese dragon. These lugs are held in place by internal screws and visible engraved bolts, each bearing a traditional Chinese huí wén motif (a repeating pattern symbolizing continuity and flow).

The mixed brushed and polished surfaces — enabled by the segmented construction — give the case a strong architectural presence without resorting to traditional case geometry. Despite the complexity of the build, proportions remain extremely wearable and refined.

A Movement That Bridges Cultures

While past Atelier Wen models relied on Chinese-made movements as a matter of principle, the Ancestra brings in an all-new caliber from outside the country: the Pequignet EPM03, a French automatic movement introduced in 2021. It beats at 28,800 vph (4Hz) and offers a 65-hour power reserve, with chronometer-grade performance regulated to –4/+6 seconds per day, adjusted in six positions and three temperatures.

For this launch edition, Atelier Wen collaborated closely with Pequignet to bring the movement in line with the brand’s storytelling. The three-quarter bridge is laser-engraved with micro-text from Tianwen (天问), an ancient Chinese poem attributed to Qu Yuan that poses a series of cosmic questions about the nature of heaven, creation, and time. The engraving is rendered with fine detail across a sandblasted backdrop, visible through a sapphire caseback. The rotor has been skeletonized, finished in tungsten, and plated in 5N rose gold to match the warmth of the poetry beneath.

Enamel, Texture, and Light

At the center of the watch — both visually and symbolically — is the dial. It begins with a blank of hand-hammered 925 silver, worked in a fine martelé pattern that gives the surface a subtle, cratered texture. Over that, Atelier Wen applies five layers of grand feu enamel, each fired at temperatures approaching 1,500°F (820°C). The enamel is laid down as a powder paste and fired repeatedly to produce a fumé gradient that transitions from pale silver at the center to deep cobalt at the perimeter.

The process is difficult and failure-prone. Each dial takes roughly 20 days to produce, and the rejection rate sits around 50%, largely due to warping or cracking during firing. The result, when successful, is a dial that evokes shifting seas — a visual reference to the oceanic domain of dragons in Chinese mythology — and no two dials are exactly the same.

Chinese and Western-Arabic Dial Options

Hour markers alternate between baguette-cut diamonds and numerals. Two versions are available:

• A Chinese calligraphy variant, with numerals created by Hong Kong artist Elaine Wong

• A Western-Arabic version, using a custom font by Lee Yuen-Rapati, inspired by bamboo brushstrokes in classical Chinese ink painting

Both are paired with custom leaf hands, finished in rhodium and built with a 0.45mm thick profile. Their frosted mid-plane and concave mirror-polished bevels catch and reflect light differently at every angle — a detail that complements the enamel’s natural depth.

Wrist Size: 6.5in / 16.5cm

Limited, and Unlikely to Repeat

In interviews and internal documentation, Atelier Wen has stated clearly: this is the only production run of this specific enamel dial. If you're interested in this execution — enamel over martelé silver with either calligraphy or Arabic markers — this is your only chance to order it.

Additionally, final production version of the Ancestra JIĀO will feature several refinements over the prototype, including flush-set diamonds in laser-cut recesses, sharper printing on the numerals, improved hand finishing, and crisper transitions between brushed and polished surfaces.

The Ancestra JIĀO is not a numbered limited edition, but production is gated by a seven-day pre-order window. Once that closes, no additional pieces will be made in this configuration.

Final Thoughts

The Atelier Wen Ancestra JIĀO isn’t simply a dress watch — it’s a thoughtful exercise in cultural storytelling and artisanal craft. It departs from the modernist utility of the Perception series and steps into lyrical, almost poetic territory. The references here are layered but deliberate: dragons, waves, ancient poetry, hammered metal, and fire-fused glass. The result is something that feels less like a product and more like an offering — a watch that reaffirms Atelier Wen’s ambition not just to make watches in China, but to make watches of China.

Available now for a limited time at collectivehorology.com. Thanks as always for supporting independent watchmaking.