Spring Sprang Sprung 2023 - Some Watches I Saw

This is the second year I attended Spring Sprang Sprung - a watch event featuring Micro-brands from around the region.

For me, this Konnii Koi timepiece epitomises the length to which micro brands differentiate themselves. Owner of the brand Alfred is based in Malaysia and travelled to Singapore for this event. The timepiece is made with rotating discs featuring a geisha feeding the koi in the pond while waiting for her lover.

What a way to be telling time - the lotus flower in the centre represents the seconds while one koi represents the hour and another the minutes. The entire dial is hand made - kois hand crafted and hand painted and so are the other ornaments. Impressive detailed work - perfect imperfection.

Another interesting new brand is Bauche watches. I spoke with the owner Ranndie and he tells me the dial is made with three layers. one dial, layered three times.

And here the blue dial version. Comes with a closed case back as the feature is the dial work.

One of the highlight for me was seeing the Feynman One Galaxy Nacre in flesh. Launched at the event, this timepiece is limited to 20 pieces.

And as you cani imagine, the 20 pieces have sold out. So enjoy the images here or find one of the lucky owners...

Horizon watches have been making some interesting pieces and this piece is no exception - the Pilgrim Pistachio.

Lovely coloured dial - something both man and woman can wear.

Grand Feu Enamel? Yup, this is from Selten Watch, a Hong Kong based microbrand.

And then there is the moonphase piece - One with a rotating disc and a hidden lady on the moon...

And another a regular moonphase timepiece.

Of course there is Atelier Wen with their Perception range of timepieces...

Both the ice blue and salmon dials are very attractive.

I believe this to be new too - the Arcturus Vanda Tourbillon. What I've taken are 2 variations but they do have other colour combinations.

Tomorrow (Sunday, 22nd October 2023) marks the last day of the event. They open at 11am and is being held at the XM Studio at 809 Kitchener Road (level 3). Head on down to support the microbrands.

When Chinese & French Meet - Atelier Wen

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.