Identity

“I just want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.” — Saul Bass

Alfred trained professionally as an automotive designer at Coventry University, before turning to watch design upon returning to Hong Kong after graduating. His work is characterised by an inescapable interest in finer details and beautiful proportions.

As a designer with just over a decade of experience, Alfred has gained a strong understanding of the industry, from design to story-telling and even manufacturing. He began as a designer for an OEM watch factory before moving on to a Swiss design agency specialised in timepieces. He has spent the past several years as the in-house designer of a globally recognised watch brand.

Alfred’s contribution to our brand has been immeasurable, helping to conceptualise our sophomore release in Perception, as well as aiding in the development of the next slew of watches in the pipeline. It has been, and continues to be, our honour to work with a man of his talents as we bring our watches to you.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Austen has loved watches since his kindergarten days. Driven by an overwhelming sense of loneliness in the watch space, he founded his immensely popular handle, @horoloupe, on Instagram in 2016, eager to build a greater sense of community.

In 2019, he became the first collector ever to collaborate with Audemars Piguet for a commercial release, and co-founded Wristcheck, a revolutionary secondary watch retailing platform based in Hong Kong, back in 2020.

His efforts have since been recognised in the industry: he was invited to be the youngest jury member of the 2021 GPHG Awards, and appointed a committee member of the Swiss Institute.

An early believer in our brand, Austen reached out to initiate our very first Perception special edition, 传承 (Chuán Chéng) that was unveiled in November 2022. We take great pride in this collaboration with someone who is an undeniably prominent member of the watch world, and the deep resonance and intent that we share with him on our quest to change the industry’s perception of Chinese watchmaking is something that imbues this partnership with even greater meaning.

阿奇 started out his career as a product designer, whilst cultivating a love for watches through his family’s 20 year-old business in the crafting of luxury watch straps. Alongside his friends, he later founded two brands, 榮美 (Rong Mei) and 顽表 (Wan Biao), before eventually branching out into watch servicing and watch retailership.

He has built up an immense client base of passionate collectors in Mainland China, and upon discovering Atelier Wen and getting to know Robin and Wilfried, has since become our first point-of-sale in our brand’s country of origin. 阿奇 hopes to introduce a greater variety of beautifully-designed, unique independent watches to his friends and clients, and we are honoured to be able to count on him as we look to introduce our brand to more collectors the world over.

Brice Wittmann is a former restauranteur, and while he may downplay his relationship with the watch industry as “a long-time appreciator of fine watches”, his pedigree is far greater, tracing his familial roots back to one of the great retail house in Belgium. Striking out on his own alongside his business partner, Jean-Baptiste, he began Prosper in February 2022 as a vision of hospitality, and the idea that not all luxury boutiques need-be intimidating for the uninitiated.

He now runs three separate spaces along rue Antoine Dansaert that come together as a welcoming whole, both by and for watchmaking and jewellery enthusiasts. This characteristic warmth and uninhibited, relaxed atmosphere that Prosper exudes serves as a particular hallmark that sets them apart, and represents what they fondly designate the complete Prosper experience.

Prosper’s jovial atmosphere felt like the perfect match for the spirit that we wish to convey as a brand. As with the previous retailers, we are truly honoured to associate ourselves with them, and excited for what lies in store!

Quite central to the fanfare that has greeted our Perception line is the exquisite work of one man: China’s sole master guillochéur, Cheng Yu Cai. Born and raised in humble environments, Cheng worked his way up to a comfortable job in Beijing at a precision manufacturing factory, overcoming the odds as an under-educated individual from a rural township. However, where any similar individual would have settled for this lot in life, Cheng did the unimaginable in 2014. Stumbling across the curious, precarious quantity that is inspiration, Cheng quit his job with the sole aim of recreating the hypnotically-wavy radial guilloché that his friend had shown him on an antique Russian cigarette box.

9 years of pouring his life-savings into R&D, and 7 rose-engines of his own arduous design later, he stands proud as the only Chinese craftsman to achieve mastery of this intricate and rare métier d’art. It is his goal to one day have his craft mentioned in the same breath as masters such as Kari Voutilainen.

Cheng’s work has been commissioned priorly by Swiss watchmakers, though he has never received the acknowledgement that he deserves, and Perception is the very first time that Cheng’s work has featured in a timepiece of Chinese origin. The honouring of Chinese craftsmanship that has long gone uncelebrated, like that of Cheng Yu Cai, is precisely what Atelier Wen stands for, and is a mission that will always form the crux and foundational pillar of our brand.

An enigma to most, Chronopeace is a prolific collector who has built up a substantial following on Instagram — both for his collection as well as the high-profile collaborations he has established. Part of the reason behind this notoriety is the fact that he operates under a veil of complete anonymity, with a blackout on his real name that extends even to the media. He chooses, instead, to go by the now-famed moniker “Chronopeace”.

Despite this anonymity, he has risen to be one of, if not the most, visible Japanese collector on social media, and has gone on to establish Chrono Theory, a delightfully futuristic private watch saloon in the heart of Ginza, Tokyo. With Atelier Wen’s watches now keeping the company of numerous exceptional independent watch brands there, his backing is not something we take lightly. And we absolutely look forward to building upon this partnership with him well into the years ahead.

First obtaining a bachelors in engineering in Tongji University, Shanghai, Jianxiong went on to graduate with a master’s in Luxury and Craftsmanship Design from Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL), Switzerland, back in 2017. Carrying his passion and flair for design on with him, he now lives and works as a fashion accessory designer in Shanghai, China, working on packaging, bag design and conceptualisation for watch dials.

As the designer behind all of the packaging that Perception arrives in, Jianxiong’s creative input has been invaluable in helping us create the thoughtful, luxurious unboxing experience that our watches deserve, whilst still allowing the box to serve our collectors functionally as a table organiser beyond the initial display of the watch. Needless to say, we are immensely grateful for his contributions, and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with him on our future projects!

An indisputable champion of independent watchmaking, Pietro began The Limited Edition back in 2015, after more than a decade working for various brands within the industry. He set up his website with the dual aim of educating the wider watch world on the allure of independent artisans and watchmakers, as well as to provide collectors with access to exceptional yet niche brands that often go under the radar of the wider public.

A member of the GPHG (Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève) academy, and a partner of the AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants), Pietro and his team now represent almost 80 different independent brands from their base of operations the UK. Needless to say, we are extremely thankful to be associated with this formidable, wonderful celebrant of independent horology!

Sugiharto Kusumadi (or Sugi, as we know him) is, first and foremost, a passionate (and perhaps a little mad) lover of watches. He is perhaps best known as the founder of Red Army Watches — a retailer of micro and independent watch brands in Singapore since 2004, with a regional presence in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. His concept at Red Army aims to offer a fun and welcoming environment for new and seasoned watch enthusiasts alike, and he is also one of the two masterminds behind the hit Singaporean watch fair Spring, Sprang, Sprung, which enjoyed its successful debut in October 2022.

Sugi has been one of our biggest supporters from the earliest days of Atelier Wen, providing us with a stage for our Porcelain Odyssey line. He continues to be one of the leading lights in the regional scene for the championing of up-and-coming young independents. This journey very much began with his aid, and as one of our retailers, he continues to represent an important platform of visibility for Atelier Wen today.

Tristan Ledard is a talented French watchmaker whose love for the craft stems from the manual and meticulous work involved in watchmaking. Graduating from the Brevet des Métiers d'Art course at the Paris watchmaking school, he has worked priorly under the guidance of several great watchmakers, and had the opportunity to work on an astronomical clock. These experiences developed his taste for clockmaking as well as the idea of creating his first timepiece: Astro, a clock with a linear equation of time.

In 2016, Astro was presented at Baselworld during the "Young Talent" competition organized by the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI). It won top honours, and he was presented the prize by none other than Mr. François-Paul Journe.

Tristan has since created his own company, TL-Watchmaking with the goal of creating entirely handmade watches. He is presently working on his first wristwatch Modelos.

Throughout the development of Perception, Tristan has been essential to our project, aiding us with after-sales service, as well as mechanical development and design. Needless to say, we are truly grateful for his input, and glad that we can count on a watchmaker of his talents!

For those of us who dwell in the various spheres of horological interest and collection, the name Wei Koh is an all too familiar one. As the founder of the pioneering watch magazine, Revolution, as well as the man behind the sartorial scripture that is The Rake, his larger-than-life presence is among the most iconic and recognisable in the industry.

With Revolution magazine seeing publication across 17 different countries and known for its collaborations with some of the biggest brands in the watch world, Wei’s willingness to extend a collaborative hand has been truly humbling for us. Our recent edition together, 喜 (Xǐ ), launched to much fanfare, and we look upon it proudly as both a marker of how far we have come as a brand. We look forward immensely to working closely with Wei and the Revolution team in time to come!