Atelier Wen × Revolution: Ancestra 垚 (Yáo)

The Allure of Antiquity: Atelier Wen × Revolution: Ancestra 垚 (Yáo)

Presenting Ancestra 垚 (Yáo), created with Atelier Wen and launching at Dubai Watch Week 2025, a watch that connects worlds that have been in dialogue for centuries: China and the Middle East.

Founded by Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron in 2018, Atelier Wen has been building a new definition of “Made in China.” Their watches fuse Western design sensibility with Chinese artisanal heritage, and in doing so, Atelier Wen brings together independent Chinese craftspeople who specialize in enamel, engraving and case finishing, elevating traditional techniques with modern purpose.

Atelier Wen has won the international watch community over with several key launches such as Perception, distinguished by a dial guilloché-turned by China’s master rose-engine craftsman, Master Cheng; Ancestra “Jiāo (蛟)”, which features a hand-hammered silver base and grand-feu enamel dial inspired by early Hongshan jade-dragon motifs, housed in a 38 mm case; and Inflection, combining a tantalum case and integrated bracelet, enamel dials and a customised manufacture movement.

Our special Dubai Watch Week edition is based on Ancestra “Jiāo (蛟).”

The dial is the heart of Atelier Wen × Revolution: Ancestra 垚 (Yáo). Made by Kong Lingjun’s atelier in Chengdu, it uses translucent fumé grand feu enamel that fades from desert sand to dark chocolate. The color alone took months to get right — browns and beiges are notoriously tricky to stabilize in enamel.

Beneath it, a 925 silver base carries a gratté finish — a scratched texture that looks almost woven. The effect evokes the texture of fabric under glass, perhaps a nod to the silk that once traveled those trade routes.

Arabic numerals alternate with baguette-cut diamonds around the edge while tri-planed rhodium-plated hands catch the light like brushed metal in the sun.

The case design takes its cue from Hongshan jade carvings — ancient Chinese pieces shaped in smooth, continuous curves. Atelier Wen reinterprets that form in 904L stainless steel, machining the case with detached lugs that are bolted from the outside.

At 38mm across and 46mm lug-to-lug, the watch sits snugly on the wrist. The mix of polished and brushed surfaces gives it definition without flash. The double-domed sapphire crystal has five layers of anti-reflective coating on each side, and the crown screws down to guarantee 100 meters of water resistance.

On the back, the Pequignet EPM03 movement is visible through another sapphire crystal. Its bridges are micro-etched with lines from 天问 (Tiān Wèn), or Questions to Heaven, a poem that asks, essentially, why we’re here. It’s an unexpectedly introspective detail for a sports-spec watch, but it fits. Horology at its best has always been philosophical.

Atelier Wen didn’t take shortcuts with the engine. The EPM03 caliber runs at 28,800vph, with a 65-hour power reserve and accuracy adjusted to within ±2 seconds per day. It’s regulated in six positions and across three temperatures, and uses bi-directional automatic winding — a clear focus on performance.

Atelier Wen × Revolution: Ancestra 垚 (Yáo) is robust enough for daily wear, detailed enough to reward a close look. The strap, hand-stitched in cream Epsom leather with a Zermatt lining, finishes the picture, light, dry and clean against the warm enamel tones.

What makes this watch interesting isn’t its scarcity, though it will be made in very limited numbers. It’s the dialogue between Chinese craft and Middle Eastern design cues. They share a love of symmetry, texture and symbolic geometry, and those aesthetic and stylistic references meet naturally, without being forced.

For Atelier Wen, this collaboration also marks their first appearance at Dubai Watch Week.

Orders open between 18 November 2025, 12noon GST and 27 November 2025, 2359 GST, with delivery scheduled for late 2026.

Each piece will be hand built to order, and each dial will vary slightly as befits the nature of enamel.

Technical specifications

Atelier Wen × Revolution: Ancestra 垚 (Yáo)

Case

• Material: 904L Stainless steel
• Diameter: 38mm
• Thickness: 11.30mm
• Water-resistant to 100 meters

Dial and hands

• Gratté base in 925 silver, with fume grand feu enamel in light sand to chocolate gradient
• Lab-grown baguette-cut diamonds for even markers
• Eastern Arabic numerals for odd hour markers

Movement

• Self winding heavily customized Pequignet Caliber EPMO3
• Power reserve of 65 hours
• ¾ bridge with circular, deeply micro etched Chinese manuscript

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes

Strap and buckle

• Hand-stitched; Full-grain leather with cream Epsom upper with Zermatt lining

MSRP: USD 5'850 (excl. taxes)

For more information, please visit revolutionarabia.com