Atelier Wen and Massena LAB Collaborate on a Limited Edition Inflection
When it comes to watchmaking, it’s usually a marathon not a sprint. Bringing a model to life is a lesson in patience, and, well, timing. A tale we often hear about how a watch came to be starts with a chance meeting, some curiosity or perhaps even instant synergy, and then intention and hard work. This echoes the origin story of the new Atelier Wen x Massena LAB Inflection Shuò, the brainchild of William Massena, founder of Massena LAB, along with Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, the co-founders of Atelier Wen. The collaboration takes the name “Shuò,” from the Chinese character 烁, which can be translated as “sparkling,” “glittering,” or “radiant.” This aptly describes the shimmering and reflective qualities of hand tremblage – the rare and demanding decorative craft that graces the dial. For the new collaboration, the technique has been entirely executed by hand engraving specialist Coralie Mercier on behalf of GT Cadrans. To achieve the beautiful finish, Mercier pushes a graver across the 18-karat gold surface of the dial while continuously oscillating it. This meticulous work slowly develops a texture thanks to thousands of tiny irregular facets. The tremblage portion of the main dial plate lays the foundation with a radially brushed sector of either white gold or rose gold creating a border. The smooth contrast of this portion around the periphery houses the hour markers. Here, the brands offer a playful twist on the California dial layout w...
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