We are thrilled to announce the launch Inflection 沙焰 (shā yàn) / شَعّان in collaboration with Dubai’s premiere retailer, Ahmed Seddiqi, and commemorates their brand’s 75th anniversary.
Like the rest of the Inflection collection, it features a case and bracelet in 99.9% tantalum, and houses a highly customised Girard-Perregaux 03300 movement.
Inflection 沙焰 (shā yàn) / شَعّان features a unique, layered dial in translucent grand feu enamel, executed in a deep red tone . The enamel is laced with textured gold foil, creating a mercurial and complex depth beyond its polished upper surface.
This dial is crafted by 孔令俊 (Kong Lingjun)’s workshop in Beijing. — one of China’s finest and most renowned enamel maisons.
For this collaborative edition, the team at Ahmed Seddiqi provided us with a foundational colour palette, inspired by the mystical textures of fire. The complex crimson tone that we ultimately arrived at which you now see in 沙焰 (shā yàn) / شَعّان took many iterations to get right, and it is formed using a proprietary composition of powdered minerals known only to Kong and his team.
When layered around the gold foil, the resulting dial reveals drastically different displays of colour, texture and shadow under varying lighting conditions.
Like our previous instances working with enamel, 沙焰 (shā yàn) / شَعّان ‘s dial begins as a raw and unrefined mix of minerals that are melted in a high-temperature furnace and 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 the layer has been left to dry, it is then fired at temperatures between 750 and 850°C. This entire process is repeated numerous times until the right colour tone is achieved. Between enamelling rounds, 24K gold leaf is applied in three different layers to achieve the depth and texture we require. 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 has a high failure rate of approximately 50%.
The dial is elevated by an alternation of calligraphed Chinese and Eastern Arabic hour markers: an adaptation of the classic “California-style” dial intended as a bridge between cultures. In many ways, it once more invokes the longstanding connections between the far and middle Easts — a tradition that stretches back far beyond the famed trade routes of The Silk Road. They are framed, by our ever-present, emblematic 回纹 (huí wén) motif minute track.
The Inflection 沙焰 (shā yàn) / شَعّان Ahmed Seddiqi 75th Anniversary Edition is limited to 10 pieces, each individually numbered on its caseback and will not be reproduced.
It retails for US$29,800.
About Ahmed Seddiqi
Established in 1950, Ahmed Seddiqi is the leading luxury watch and jewellery retailer in the region. With the curation of timeless luxury at its core, the company offers an unmatched luxury retail experience with a collection of over 100 brands across over 50 locations. Ahmed Seddiqi's 75-year rich legacy is recognised as a trusted name in luxury, led by its commitment to service excellence, horological expertise, portfolio curation, and the creation of unique experiences.
Atelier Wen is delighted to contribute to the celebration of this important milestone of their 75th anniversary, and our collaborative Limited Edition with Ahmed Seddiqi marks a new and blossoming relationship between our brands.