Atelier Wen and Revolution Collaborate on a Limited Edition Perception with a Bright Red Dial and Hand Applied Guilloche Pattern

If your particular collecting focus is centered on rising microbrands making affordable integrated bracelet sports watches with dramatic red dials, you have been spoiled for choice recently. It was just yesterday that we brought you news of the Fratello x Straum collaboration, which features a red dial that is literally inspired by volcanic lava, and is about as red as it gets. And today, in what can only be described as a Deep Impact/Armageddon style confluence of good ideas having their moment, we get the new Atelier Wen x Revolution Perception “Xi,” the latest version of the upstart brand’s impressive integrated bracelet sports watch that mixes a familiar platform with traditional Chinese craft techniques. 

If you haven’t experienced or heard much about the Perception, be sure to check out our prior coverage, which includes a hands on review by Brad Homes here, and a story about a limited edition made in partnership with Wristcheck here. To cut to the chase, though, we’re pretty big fans of the Perception around here. The integrated bracelet sports watch is very close to being completely played out, but Atelier Wen’s late entry into the genre actually feels fresh, and incorporates a unique design language based on Chinese pagodas, in a package that’s lightweight, wearable, and affordable. 

As well executed as the Perception’s case is, it’s always the dials that seem to generate the most interest when a new Perception is launched, and that’s certainly the case with the Xi. As is the case with prior references, this new limited edition has a dial with a guilloche pattern made with a rose engine. The motif this time around is a circular panier design featuring 36 separate sections. That’s twelve more sections than in a traditional dial with a similar design, upping the degree of difficulty substantially. This is particularly noticeable as you get to the center of the dial, where the pattern gets impossibly small, but each small subsection remains distinct from those around it. 

The Atelier Wen x Revolution limited edition is crafted from grade 5 titanium and features a mix of polished and brushed surface treatments. It ships with both a titanium bracelet and an integrated rubber strap designed to fit the Perception’s case perfectly. The measurements on the Perception work out to 40mm in diameter and just 9.5mm in height, which in titanium should be quite comfortable indeed. As with other watches in the Perception line, this one features a raised chapter ring at the dial’s perimeter with a traditional Chinese lattice pattern. This decorative pattern is lumed, as are the hands, with SuperLuminova. Atelier Wen is still using the Chinese made Dandong SL1588 movement, a caliber with a 41 hour power reserve that is partially visible though the brand’s unique display case back that features an engraving of a Chinese lion. 

This is a limited edition of 100 numbered pieces, and carries a retail price of $3,400. For a watch with such a complex case and a handmade guilloche dial, that’s an incredible value, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see this limited edition sell out even faster than previous versions of the Perception, as the brand and watch continue to gain momentum with every new drop. Part of the reason for Atelier Wen’s existence is to put a spotlight on Chinese watchmaking, and to remake the perceptions of the watch community when it comes to timepieces that come out of that country (particularly in the traditional luxury space). That’s a story that continues to be written, but it’s clear based on the success that Atelier Wen has experienced in recent years that progress is being made and those perceptions are changing. Revolution x Atelier Wen