Porcelain Odyssey - the Hao and Ji is east meets west. French friends (Robin and Wilfried) having studied in China got together to promote Chinese art and culture and the way they went about it came to developing their first timepiece, the Porcelain Odyssey. Together with Chinese designers (Li Mingliang and Liu Yuguan), they created the first porcelain dial - the Hao (White) and Ji (Blue).
Atelier Wen started off their project using Kickstarter and the collaboration was a huge success. The first version seen here is a white porcelain dial with blue markings which I received in June 2019. "Hao" (皓), denotes a white that is pure and without blemish - that is what their website says and I have to say, I am impressed with the actual product.
The automatic timepiece comes with a Chinese made 32-jewel Peacock SL-3006 hacking movement. But what is important is not the movement but the dial. The dial is made in a factory in Shenzhen but the movement is made by the Dandong Watch Factory.
As promised, the dial is pure white and the blue markers bring out the dial colour which in turn brings out the blued hands. According to the folks at Atelier Wen, the dial is made of high-tech zirconium oxide porcelain fired at 1,400ºC on top of a copper base.
The imprints are well done as can be seen on photo below. Numerals and motif are pad-printed. The character 酉 (You) and 卯 (Mao) represents the hours between 5pm and 7pm. In ancient Chinese time measurement, there are 12 segments in a day, each segment representing 2 hours. Each character also corresponds to a different zodiac animal, a direction/cardinal point, a season and a month. That's Chinese culture in a dial.
The timepiece comes encased in a 39mm 316L steel case and is rated to 5ATM for water resistance.
Lots of details on the timepiece too... for one, the signed crown (below)
And a signed buckle too...
And true to their Chinese heritage, the strap is also scribed (hot-stamped) with the words 乘风破浪 which translates to "Ride the winds and break the waves" to reflect their attempt to re-interpret modern Chinese heritage.
A another little detail was the use of a quick release mechanism for their timepiece...
I would have preferred an exhibition caseback to showcase the movement but the folks at Atelier Wen decided otherwise.
On the caseback, what I thought was an engraving of a Phoenix turned out to be the Kun (鯤) Peng (鵬).
Instead of having an exhibition caseback, the folks at Atelier Wen decided to complete the Chinese theme with Kun Peng, a mythical creature representing the concept of Yin and Yang.
The customised SL3006 movement is made in a factory in Dandong Watch Factory after which it is shipped to the Fiyta factor in Shenzhen for final assembly.
The movement is adjusted in 5 positions to ensure proper chronometry after assembly and I can say mine tells time pretty well.
What Atelier Wen did when they launched the Porcelain Odyssey was to showcase the "Made In China" possibilities. I do not believe any other (non-Chinese) brands can do a better job than what the folks at Atelier Wen achieved. At (list price) US$720 for the Hao, it is a steal. It is not only affordable, but the overall Quality Price Ratio is unbeatable. Since then, they have launched another few more Porcelain Odyssey and of late, the new Perception range which is also sold out. Good luck to the folks of Aterlier Wen on their journey.
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