Ancestra Jiao

Description

The Atelier Wen ANCESTRA 蛟 (JIĀO) is a 38mm dress watch featuring an exquisite, hand-hammered dial with multiple layers of grand feu enamel, calligraphed and baguette-cut diamond hour markers, and a high-performance, modern calibre that has been customised in Collaboration with Pequignet Manufacture in France.

ANCESTRA’s case design is rooted in the fascinating narrative of the Hongshan jade dragon; mankind's very first recorded depiction of a dragon. Inspired by the sinuous form of this historic jade artifact, it is a striking tribute to China’s artistic and horological traditions.

A case inspired by the first known depiction of the dragon

The case of ANCESTRA serves as the primary canvas for its referentiality to the Hongshan culture’s carved jade dragons (猪龙 zhū lóng). ANCESTRA’s case and lugs reinterpret these ancient artifacts in the form of elegant, detached lugs that are screwed externally onto the case. The sinuous, lugs mirror the curves of the jade dragon, and are secured with internal screws and intricately engraved, external bolts featuring a traditional Chinese 回纹 (huí wén) motif.

Designed by Sifan Guo and Alfred Chan, the 38mm case is constructed from 904L stainless steel, offering a rich contrast of brushed and polished surfaces, and the detached construction enables extremely sharp transitions between contrasting finishing treatments.

A complex dial featuring hand-hammering, grand feu enamel and mixed indices

Behind its generously domed, box sapphire crystal, 蛟 (JIĀO) features a grand feu enamel dial crafted by the workshop of Kong Lingjun — one of China’s very finest and most renowned enamel maisons. Executed in a fumé finish that ranges from pale silver in the middle to a deep cobalt at its circumference, 蛟 (JIĀO)'s grand feu enamel dial features meticulous hand-hammering (martelé) on its 925 silver dial base.

The multiple enamel layers above this hammered dial base results in a visually arresting texture reminiscent of deep seas. With the sea being the traditional dwelling place of the dragon kings in Chinese mythology, this feeds back into the cultural inspirations of its case. Due to the handcrafted nature of each individual dial, the gradient of this “sea” varies slightly from dial to dial, making each dial ostensibly unique. This gradient is also significantly challenging to achieve due to the high number of shades of blue required to realise it within the limited space present on the dial. The fickle nature of enamel also means that an even ombre effect is difficult to reliably create through the multiple firings needed, thereby resulting in a high rejection rate based on dial colour alone.

The artisanal dial is paired with an original handset with an extraordinarily voluminous, 0.45mm thick profile that lends the already abyssal dial even more depth. Plated in rhodium, the “leaf”-shaped hour and minute hands feature a frosted mid-plane and wide, concave, mirror-polished bevels, catching the light with its subtle interplay of finishes.

The dial is further elevated by calligraphed hour markers that were derived from the visual cues of traditional bamboo paintings. These extend the watch’s Chinese inspirations, and were specially commissioned from the talents of Hong Kong calligraphy artist Elaine Wong. They feature on all odd markers, alternating with baguette-cut diamonds that distribute the dial’s visual weight and add a touch of additional refinement.

A finely finished, modern calibre embellished in poetry

ANCESTRA is powered by a heavily customized Pequignet Calibre EPM03. This modern automatic movement boasts a 65-hour power reserve, 21 jewels, and chronometer-grade accuracy (-4/+6 seconds per day with an average of +/-2s/d). The movement possesses a patented tooth profile within the winding assembly, and benefits from a bi-directional pawl-based “Pellaton” winding system — both of which result in far greater efficiency in energy transmission during winding, as well as durability in the long run.

蛟 (JIĀO)’s movement features a deeply micro-etched main bridge featuring a poetic re-envisioning of the Chinese manuscript 天问 (Questions to Heaven). Attributed to the poet Qu Yuan 屈原 (340–278 BCE), it is framed as a series of poetic questions directed towards heaven, and invokes early Chinese shamanistic mythologies, themes of creation, the interplay of yin and yang and celestial phenomena that supplement the foundational inspirations that ANCESTRA’s design draws from.

The three-quarter bridge is finished to a high degree, and is complemented by a black-polished ratchet return wheel and balance bridge that contrast starkly with the text that surrounds them. Its tungsten rotor has also been skeletonised in order to maximise the visibility of this beautiful new movement through the sapphire caseback. The rotor is plated in a 1.5 micron thick layer of 5N rose gold.

Supplied by the brand to the GPHG for its entry.