Stone dials. You know them, you love them. Or at least, with the sheer number of rare minerals being mined for your timekeeping pleasure, you’d better love them. Indeed, no quarry is safe as stones of all hues and grains have, in recent years, been repurposed from semi-precious jewellery to horology with watchmakers big and small embracing that very specific naturalistic range of colours.
So, it’s perhaps not a surprise to see that Chinese darling of the microbrand world, Atelier Wen, is also throwing their impeccably made hat into the ring. But if you were expecting anything as prosaic as malachite or lapis lazuli, think again. For their latest metier d’art Millesime launch, we’re here to talk about Pietersite.
You can understand a lot about Piestersite from its colloquial yet incredibly evocative name: tempest stone. Yes, that sounds like a magical wizard’s orb, but when you see the swirling mix of blue, gold, brown and grey that defines Pietersite, it’s hard not to admit it fits. It gets that swirl of colours from a mix of classic Tiger’s Eye, Hawk’s Eye (similar but blue-grey), quartz and jasper.
Pietersite can be found mainly in Namibia or China, which brings us neatly back to Atelier Wen – just not for the reason you might be thinking. You see, Namibian Piestersite is this swirling blue; Chinese Pietersite veers more towards the reddish-brown end of the spectrum. Same composition and tempestuous swirl, but Atelier Wen have clearly opted for version more commonly associated with Namibia. That’s odd for a Chinese brand until you look into what it represents here.
Atelier Wen regularly draw from Chinese architecture which, given the culture’s many millennia of history, gives them plenty to work with. But one of the oldest elements of Chinese architecture was in the inclusion of 盆景 (pén jǐng). These are tiny, landscaped gardens that would have been the heart of a home, a miniature world of rock and water that defined the building around it. And so the beautiful, swirling blue-grey of Pietersite is the perfect fit.
As a dial, it’s hard to get across just how spectacular a stone this particular Piestersite is. Every dial will of course be different; that’s the nature of the rocky beast. And that includes the variations in colour and texture. But given the painstaking process of elimination the guys at Atelier Wen went through sourcing the stone, these dials invariably have that same thematic overtones of rolling streams and cascading waterfalls. And yes, they’re beautiful.
These new dials have been put into the brand’s signature Perception, rather than the haute horology Inflection we covered recently. At first, I thought I was going to miss the collection’s usual splash of colourful guilloche, but honestly, I prefer the more naturalistic stone. Not to get too flamboyant with my words, but as the pén jǐng anchors the vibe of the building around it, the dial here does the same job. It’s organic where the fittingly architecturally inspired, broad-shouldered case is intensely structured.
It’s worth the effort it took – and not just of selecting the stone, but working with it. Stone’s brittle at the best of times and Pietersite especially so. Throw in cut-outs for indexes and you have a dial designed to drive a stonecutter to madness.
Otherwise, this is the Perception as we’ve known it for years. 40mm across, 47mm lug-to-lug, it wears with more commanding a presence than you might expect due to those shoulders. It is however relatively slim at 9.4mm, making it the kind of largeish, flat watch that feels great on my particular wrists.
The movement is still the Dandong Peacock SL1588A, a movement that continues to push China’s reputation not just for cheap movements, but great ones. 41-hours of power reserve, +/-10 second-a-day accuracy and finishing that would be at home at any Swiss manufacture, it’s a great calibre. I wouldn’t want to try and get it serviced here in the UK, but on its own merits it’s solid.
Like other Millesime launches, the Pietersite Perception is a limited edition. Kind of. Similar to a handful of other hyped-up microbrands, Atelier Wen will be launching across a specific window of time rather than to any particular number. It’s interesting because the launch was planned to be 225 pieces, first-come, first-served. But interest was high enough that the brand changed tack. What it does mean is that the first 225 pieces will be delivered before the rest in April / May, while the rest will be delivered just before the end of the year.
I’m a fan of order windows over limited editions. Yes, it starts to feel more like a sneaker drop than a watch launch, but it does mean that everyone who is genuinely interested can get a watch, none of this needing to be in the know. I mean, I’m always in the know so I’m fine, but I only think of you, dear reader.
That’s because at $3,600 – a tempting (thanks to favourable exchange rates right now) £2,700 – this is a lot of watch for the money. I can see a lot of collectors eager to get it on their wrist. But if this is the first you’re reading about it, you’d best be quick: the order window closes Feb 6th. Don’t get pressured into buying something you don’t want but… you know. There’s a lot to love here.
Price and Specs:
More details at Atelier Wen.
