Atelier Wen continues its tradition of innovation and customer-focused design with the launch of its 2025 Millésime model, the Perception &Parameter;#21437; (Xuán). This latest offering introduces a mesmerizing wire-cut and meticulously hand-finished pietersite stone dial, representing a significant milestone as the brand's inaugural use of stone in its timepieces. Building on the success of 2025, which saw the introduction of the acclaimed Ancestra and the tantalum-crafted Inflection series, Atelier Wen demonstrates its unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries rather than resting on past achievements. The Millésime series, a platform for experimental and bold designs driven by community feedback, ensures that these exceptional, limited-edition watches are accessible to a wider audience through a fixed pre-order window, offering owners a piece of remarkable beauty and quality.
The centerpiece of the new Perception &Parameter;#21437; (Xuán) is its extraordinary pietersite dial. Selected for both its striking beauty and profound cultural significance, this rare semi-precious stone features an enchanting blend of blues and blacks with delicate veins of gold and brown. The stone's dynamic chatoyancy is meticulously crafted to evoke the symbolic miniature worlds of traditional Chinese landscape gardens, or 盆景 (pén jǐng). Specifically, the swirling patterns within the pietersite recall the 山水盆景 (shānshuǐ pénjǐng), or mountain-water landscape gardens, with their depiction of cascading water, misty atmospheres, and thoughtfully arranged rock formations. Transforming this naturally delicate and brittle stone into a watch dial is a testament to the brand's dedication to craftsmanship, involving painstaking selection of slabs and an intricate wire-cutting process performed by expert artisans, followed by hand-polishing to achieve a flawless finish.
Beyond the captivating dial, the watch maintains the high standards expected from Atelier Wen. The 40mm case, only 9.4mm thick with a 47mm lug-to-lug distance, is constructed from 904L stainless steel. Its design is deeply inspired by classical Chinese architecture, showcasing a refined combination of brushed and polished surfaces. Essential features like a double-domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, a screw-down crown, and 100 meters of water resistance ensure both durability and practicality. Powering the timepiece is a customized 32-jewel Dandong SL1588A automatic movement from Peacock, regulated to -/+ 10 seconds per day, offering a 41-hour power reserve at 28,800 vph. This movement is elegantly finished with heat-blued screws, perlage, anglage, and Côtes de Genève, complemented by a black rhodium-plated tungsten rotor. The integrated-style bracelet, also crafted from 904L stainless steel, features individually chamfered links and a quick-release system for versatility. Its folding clasp includes a patent-pending on-the-fly micro-adjustment system, activated by the brand's logo, providing 7mm of extension, alongside a telescoping folding blade for enhanced comfort. Each caseback is adorned with a stone lion motif and hammered texturing, featuring a sapphire aperture to reveal the intricate movement. The first 225 pieces of this Millésime series will feature black lacquer filled engravings of the Atelier Wen logo and will be individually numbered, with pre-orders available from January 27 to February 5, 2026, priced at $3,600 USD.
This innovative timepiece, with its pietersite dial, stands as a testament to artistic vision and technical mastery. It celebrates the profound beauty of nature and the meticulous handcraftsmanship that transforms raw materials into objects of desire. Owning such a watch is an affirmation of appreciation for intricate details, cultural narratives, and the relentless pursuit of excellence, inspiring wearers to seek beauty and precision in their own endeavors.