Introducing The Wristcheck x seconde/seconde/ x Atelier Wen Perception“锔瓷” Special Edition

In the tradition-obsessed watch world, Romaric André’s seconde/seconde/ is a breath of fresh air. The perfect anti-fit in an industry that often takes itself too seriously, André’s bold graphic symbols on iconic watches offer a sharp cultural commentary in the most fun way possible. Right from featuring a pizza cutter on the famous Domino’s Rolex Air King to swapping a hand on the Tiffany-stamped Patek Philippe Calatrava with a croissant, André’s clever and mischievous takes on horology are hard to miss. A self-proclaimed contrarian, his interpretations are always playful but well thought-out. “I like to think the opposite way and subvert traditional notions. This is what I apply to watches as well,” he says. 

So this year when Wristcheck’s founder, Austen Chu, decided to revive some of the rejected dials from our first collaboration with Atelier Wen, André came across as the most obvious artist to reimagine those beautiful guilloché dials. “After our collaboration, I checked with Robin Tallendier if there were any dials with slight errors that he had preserved. He told me there were some which were not perfect and Master Cheng had marked a cut on them. I thought it would be a shame to waste those handcrafted dials for minor errors. That’s when seconde/seconde/ came into the picture. Romaric André was the best person to shape this narrative of finding beauty in imperfection,” says Chu.

As expected, André loved Austen’s idea. “I thought it would be most interesting to make those rejected dials really sought-after. Rejection isn’t the end of the world. I relate this with my personal story when I was totally lost after my first venture didn’t take off well. I think rejection makes one more human; more resilient,” says André, who has breathed a new life into 36 dials, which were initially made for the Wristcheck x Atelier Wen Perception 传承 Special Edition but were cast aside for minor irregularities in their guilloché patterns.

Crafted out of Grade 5 titanium for the first time, the Wristcheck x Atelier Wen Perception 传承 Special Edition was fitted with a handmade jade green guilloché dial — each requiring 8 hours to handcraft with a rose engine by China’s sole master guilloché craftsman, Master Cheng. Every single dial went through a stringent quality assessment overseen by Master Cheng and Robin Tallendier, co-founder of Atelier Wen. While some dials, specifically the guilloché pattern, passed Cheng’s inspection, Tallendier's exacting standards didn’t clear all of them for the final assembly. Master Cheng then marked these rejected dials with a single cut, which has now been turned into an artful symbol of revival and resilience by seconde/seconde/. Each of those 36 dials have been ‘healed’ with three cross-stitches in pure 24K gold. Reminiscent of the ancient Chinese technique "锔瓷" (jū cí) used to mend Celadon porcelains, these gold stitches are also a tribute to traditional Chinese crafts.

“I never imagined we would be able to restore these dials,” says Tallendier. When you are so intensely involved in a project, you don’t see the larger picture. We were just focused on making the most perfect 100 dials for the Wristcheck x Atelier Wen Perception 传承 Special Edition. I’m glad we could use Romaric’s expertise to bring these dials back to life. While rejecting those dials, I could sense Mr Cheng’s pain and I’m so glad we have been able to bring back the glory of his creations with the help of seconde/seconde/.”

While it may sound like an easy-breezy restoration, the entire process was quite challenging. “The cuts on the dials are done with metal tires and they are all in random places. Making the stitches in gold was also really hard, as it’s difficult to get the right finish on 24k gold. Gold is heavier than brass and this affects the center of gravity. So we had to involve the assembler, the hand maker and the movement maker to redesign the hands a bit and conduct a proper test to ensure the watch was working fine,” explains Tallendier. The gold stitches also added a bit of thickness to the dial, so the hands had to be slightly elevated to avoid rubbing against the stitches. “We made new pinions and cannons as well to elevate the hands. So it's actually like a lot of work for something that may seem like a tiny and insignificant change. We also made a total of 12 holes to apply the stitches on the dial and that was the trickiest part because we ran the risk of damaging the guilloché. We had only those 36 dials to work with, so it was like dealing with some old artifacts from a museum,” he says.

In true seconde/seconde/ style, this special edition doesn’t bear the brand’s name on the dial. Marked with “Rejected → ⧖ → Praised” and the watch’s serial on its caseback, the only branding appears on the watch’s rotor – where Wristcheck, Atelier Wen, and seconde/seconde/ logos are laser-engraved and filled with blue ink. The 40mm watch is powered by a customized extra-thin Dandong SL1588 automatic movement that beats at 28,800 BPH, offering 41 hours of power reserve and 10 ATM of water resistance. Fitted on a 904L stainless steel bracelet with quick-release spring bars, each watch comes with one additional grey rubber strap and buckle. The 36 unique timepieces tell a story of resilience and redemption, of finding beauty in the most unexpected places. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Wristcheck x seconde/seconde/ x Atelier Wen Perception “锔瓷” Special Edition
 

Movement: Customized 32 jewels extra-thin (3.3mm) Dandong SL1588 automatic movement; Decorated with Côtes de Genève on the surface bridges; Tungsten rotor with circular côtes de Genève and green rhodium plating
Case: 40mm (diameter) x 40.4mm (from where the lugs start sloping down) 
Caseback: Deeply embossed semi-display caseback with sapphire glass and 10 layers AR coating; Hammered texture around the 3D lion’s head Markings — all in 3D, done via CNC; “Rejected → ⧖ → Praised” N°XX/36
Lug to lug: 47mm
Dial: Handmade guilloché dial turned on a rose engine by China’s sole guilloché master craftsman, Cheng Yucai; Soleil Inca pattern; Jade green color; Each dial features a cut which length is equal to c. half of the dial diameter. The position of the cut differs for each dial; 3 miniature stitches made of solid 24k gold are applied on the cut; Hand-bent solid 18k hands with Super-LumiNova® BGW9 (X1 grade) lume; Applied rhodium-plated indexes
Water-resistance: Up to 10 ATM
Frequency: 28,800 BPH
Power Reserve: 41 hours
Bracelet: 904L stainless steel bracelet with exceptional attention to finish and quick-release spring bars On-the-fly micro-adjustment buckle; Each link has chamfered inner angles
Accessories: Each watch will come with one additional gray rubber strap and buckle
Price: HKD 39,000 / USD 5,000
Limited to 36 pieces