Atelier Wen's Perception was conceived to challenge conventional ideas about Chinese watchmaking, placing traditional craftsmanship within a thoroughly contemporary sports-watch design. Perception V3 advances that idea with perhaps its most significant evolution yet.
The new Yún 筠, rendered in bamboo green, retains the hand-turned guilloché that defines the collection while introducing a micro-frosted 904L steel case and bracelet. More importantly, V3 replaces the previous movement architecture with a highly customised Pequignet EPM03 - a French manufacture calibre extensively reworked for Atelier Wen and now displayed through a full sapphire exhibition caseback.
Inspiration & Design
Perception draws heavily from traditional Chinese architecture, particularly 榫卯 (sǔn mǎo) - the mortise-and-tenon construction technique that allows structures to interlock without nails or glue.
That principle informs the four-part dial construction, where the components fit together around the guilloché centre. The huiwen-patterned chapter ring provides another architectural reference, while the case flanks and asymmetrical bracelet links echo the curves, rooflines and geometric forms found in traditional Chinese buildings.
Yún is the first new core Perception dial colour in four years. Atelier Wen describes the shade as bamboo green, giving V3 a colour that feels distinctly connected to its Chinese design vocabulary without becoming overtly thematic.
Dial & Case
At the centre is Perception's signature écailles de poisson - or fish-scale - guilloché, produced by the workshop of Cheng Yucai, whom Atelier Wen identifies as China's first master guilloché craftsman. Each dial is individually hand-turned on a rose engine designed by Master Cheng himself, requiring sustained manual control throughout the process.
The bamboo-green guilloché is surrounded by a huiwen-patterned chapter ring printed with X1-grade Super-LumiNova, complemented by applied rhodium-plated indices and substantial rhodium-plated leaf-shaped hands. The minute and seconds hands are individually bent by hand.
Yún receives its own case treatment within the V3 collection: micro-frosted 904L stainless steel contrasted by mirror-polished chamfers. At 40mm in diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug and just 10.4mm thick including the crystal, it retains the relatively compact proportions that have characterised Perception. Water resistance is 100m/10ATM.
A double-domed box sapphire crystal sits above the dial, treated with ten layers of anti-reflective coating.
Movement
The most significant change arrives underneath.
Perception V3 is powered by a highly customised version of the Pequignet EPM03, produced by independent French manufacture Pequignet in Morteau. The automatic calibre operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour, uses 21 jewels and provides approximately 65 hours of power reserve. It also brings hacking seconds to Perception for the first time.
Atelier Wen specifies chronometer-grade accuracy of -4/+6 seconds per day, with an average stated deviation of ±2 seconds per day. Each movement is adjusted in six positions and across three temperatures. Bi-directional automatic winding uses a pawl-based system with a patented tooth profile designed to improve efficiency and reduce wear.
But V3 doesn't simply install a French movement unchanged. Its bridges have been reshaped around the traditional Chinese representation of wind, then filled with mirror-polished blue aventurine lacquer. Finishing includes wavy Côtes de Genève, black-polished screws, machine-made anglage, perlage, a snailed barrel and a rotor combining snailing and frosting.
For the first time on Perception, all of this is visible through a full sapphire exhibition caseback.
Bracelet
The integrated-style bracelet continues in 904L stainless steel, with Yún receiving the same micro-frosted treatment as its case. Individually chamfered links create polished highlights against the softer matte surfaces.
It tapers from 22mm at the case to 18mm at the clasp and gradually reduces in thickness from 3mm to 2.6mm. Quick-release spring bars also allow it to be exchanged for Atelier Wen's optional FKM rubber straps without tools.
V3 introduces a patent-pending on-the-fly micro-adjustment system operated through a button concealed within the Atelier Wen logo, together with a proprietary telescopic deployant blade designed to maintain a slim clasp while making the watch easier to put on and remove.
Final Thoughts
Perception V3 doesn't discard what made the original watch distinctive. Instead, Atelier Wen has concentrated its changes where they matter.
Master Cheng's hand-turned guilloché remains at the heart of the watch, while the new Pequignet EPM03 transforms what happens on the other side. The extensively customised movement, exhibition caseback, upgraded clasp and refined finishing give V3 considerably greater mechanical depth without compromising Perception's original identity.
Yún may be the most cohesive expression of that evolution: bamboo-green guilloché against softly micro-frosted 904L steel, with Chinese craftsmanship on the dial and an unusual Franco-Chinese collaboration visible through the back.
Availability
Preorder now at Red Army Watches Singapore. Deliveries scheduled for Q4 2026 onwards.
Technical Specifications
Case size:
40mm
Case material:
904L stainless steel case; micro-frosted with mirror-polished chamfers
Case back:
Sapphire exhibition caseback, 10-layer internal AR
Movement type:
Automatic
Movement no.:
Customised Pequignet EPM03
Power reserve:
Approx 65hrs
Dial:
Bamboo green, hand-turned écailles de poisson guilloché; four-part construction inspired by sǔn mǎo; applied rhodium-plated indices; X1 grade Super-Luminova
Glass:
Sapphire crystal with 10 layers of anti-reflective coating
Water resistance:
10ATM
Strap type:
Bracelet
Strap material:
904L micro-frosted stainless steel bracelet with quick-release springbars
Buckle:
Deployant clasp; patent pending on-the-fly micro-adjustment
Warranty:
5 years
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