For Geneva Watch Days 2026, Atelier Wen and Massena LAB unveil a creation that goes well beyond the scope of a simple limited edition. Named Inflection Shuò, this edition of 50 pieces brings two watchmaking cultures into dialogue, two decorative traditions and two contemporary visions of the timepiece. On one side, the Chinese creativity and craftsmanship championed by Atelier Wen. On the other, the demands of Swiss finishing embodied by an 18-carat gold dial worked entirely by hand. Between the two, a tantalum case and integrated bracelet, a specially customised Girard-Perregaux movement and an aesthetic that never seeks compromise.
Presented at the Hôtel Eastwest during Geneva Watch Days 2026, the Atelier Wen x Massena LAB Inflection Shuò thus belongs to that category of rare watches whose interest is not limited to their exclusivity. It tells the story of an encounter. That of Atelier Wen, a young Chinese house determined to show that China can now lay claim to a leading place in contemporary watchmaking, and of Massena LAB, a New York creative laboratory founded by William Massena, accustomed to shaking up conventions and exploring unconventional watchmaking territory.
On this page
- A meeting born in New York
- Shuò, a name that evokes light
- Tremblage, an exceptional artisanal signature
- Two dials, two interpretations
- Chinese calligraphy at the heart of the dial
- Tantalum as a material with character
- A detail that changes everything
- Girard-Perregaux at the heart of the Inflection Shuò
- A meeting between two worlds
- Atelier Wen, another vision of Chinese watchmaking
- Massena LAB signs a double first
- 50 pieces for a rare encounter
- An Inflection that lives up to its name
- Frequently asked questions
A meeting born in New York
The story of this collaboration begins in 2023, when William Massena met Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron, the two co-founders of Atelier Wen, in New York.
Since its creation, Atelier Wen has pursued a particularly clear ambition: to change the way contemporary Chinese watchmaking is viewed. The brand openly claims its origins and seeks to show that the label “Made in China” can be associated with a high level of finishing, creativity and technical mastery.
The approach is not to reproduce the codes of Swiss watchmaking, but to build its own identity by drawing on Chinese cultural heritage, its architectural forms, its calligraphy and its craft traditions, while confronting them with the demands of modern mechanical watchmaking.
William Massena was able to gauge this ambition first-hand during a trip to China, in the course of which he discovered Atelier Wen’s workshops. This immersion proved decisive. The idea of a collaboration then began to take shape, with one central idea: to bring Atelier Wen’s aesthetic language up against the expertise of Swiss specialists in watch decoration.
The Inflection Shuò thus becomes the result of a genuine exchange rather than a juxtaposition of signatures.
Shuò, a name that evokes light
The name Shuò refers to the Chinese character 烁, which can be translated as sparkling, glittering or radiant. A particularly well-chosen name once you discover the dial of this limited edition.
Because it is precisely light that makes up one of the most fascinating elements of the Inflection Shuò. It travels across the surface of the gold, catches the countless facets created by the hand tremblage and transforms the dial according to the viewing angle.
Behind this apparent simplicity, however, lies one of the most demanding decorative techniques in traditional watchmaking.
Tremblage, an exceptional artisanal signature
Both variants of the Inflection Shuò have a dial made from a disc of solid 18-carat gold. Its surface receives a hand tremblage finish, a particularly rare technique that demands absolute mastery of the gesture.
For this piece, Atelier Wen and Massena LAB turned to GT Cadrans and the engraver and artisan Coralie Mercier.
The principle of tremblage rests on a gesture as subtle as it is difficult to reproduce. The engraver moves the tool across the surface of the metal while simultaneously imparting very slight oscillations to the dial. Little by little, the material becomes covered with thousands of small, irregular facets.
No automation can reproduce this gesture exactly. Each dial therefore has a texture all its own, the fruit of long, painstaking and particularly demanding work. A single mistake during the process can be enough to ruin the entire piece.
This living surface is the true aesthetic heart of the Inflection Shuò. It does not seek to display spectacular decoration at first glance. It prefers to reveal its complexity gradually, when the light comes to play on the metal.
Two dials, two interpretations
The series of 50 pieces comes in two versions.
The first, limited to just 10 pieces, receives a dial made entirely in white gold. This variant is reserved for established clients of Atelier Wen or Massena LAB, which gives it a particularly exclusive character.
The second represents the 40 remaining pieces and combines white gold and rose gold. Orders here are open to the public.
On the main 18-carat gold base worked in tremblage sits a radial sector in white gold or rose gold depending on the chosen version. The whole is organised around a construction inspired by the California dial, but reinterpreted through the prism of the dialogue between East and West.
Reading the time then becomes a genuine exercise in composition.
The hours from 10 to 2 are marked by serif-style Arabic numerals, engraved to order. From 4 to 8, the numerals are replaced by hand-calligraphed Chinese characters, specially commissioned by Atelier Wen.
This alternation is not merely a graphic element. It visually embodies the meeting between two cultures and two traditions of representing time.
Chinese calligraphy at the heart of the dial
The hybrid character of the composition is reinforced by the treatment of the numerals. The engraved Arabic numerals and the calligraphed Chinese characters are filled with blue, a colour echoed by the hour, minute and second hands in blued steel.
At 12 o’clock, the Atelier Wen signature also appears in blue, while Massena takes its place at 6 o’clock in white gold.
The rim of the outer sector in turn receives a tremblage finish. It is framed by a finely engraved frieze inspired by huiwen, a traditional Chinese decorative motif whose form evokes the character 回.
The richness of the dial thus rests on a succession of details that never seek to dominate one another. Tremblage, engraving, calligraphy, white gold, rose gold and blue balance each other to form a composition that is at once contemporary and deeply rooted in Chinese culture.
Tantalum as a material with character
If the dial brings warmth and light, the case plays a radically different tune.
The Inflection Shuò is entirely clad in 99,9 % tantalum, a particularly dense metal renowned for its resistance to corrosion. Its naturally dark hue, shot through with bluish nuances, offers a striking contrast with the gold of the dial.
The choice of tantalum is not incidental.
This metal is among the most difficult materials to machine and finish in the world of watchmaking. Its density and mechanical properties make working it particularly demanding. In this case, the difficulty is heightened further by the very complex architecture of the Inflection.
The 40 mm case and its integrated bracelet indeed adopt a construction largely devoid of flat surfaces. The lines are curved, almost organic, in an aesthetic that finds its inspiration in certain Chinese architectural forms.
The concave bezel and the ribbed middle case give the case additional depth. The integrated bracelet continues this pursuit with links whose surfaces alternate between satin brushing and mirror polishing.
The outer links feature pronounced vertical brushing, while the central elements play the mirror-polish card. The chamfers, too, are polished with a concave finish.
An architecture this complex could have become showy. Yet it remains coherent with the identity of the Inflection, whose curves give the tantalum an almost sculptural presence.
A detail that changes everything
The two versions differ not only in their dials.
The screw-down crown is made of tantalum on the version with the dial entirely in white gold. The version mixing white gold and rose gold, for its part, adopts a rose gold crown.
The whole benefits from a stated water resistance of 100 metres, a feature that recalls that behind this aesthetic pursuit remains a mechanical watch designed to accompany its owner day to day.
Girard-Perregaux at the heart of the Inflection Shuò
To power this creation, Atelier Wen and Massena LAB chose a particularly prestigious base: the GP03300 calibre from Girard-Perregaux, specially customised for this collaboration.
The choice of Girard-Perregaux is not neutral. A historic Swiss manufacture, the house is one of the emblematic players in Swiss haute horlogerie. Its movement here becomes the third pillar of this meeting between Chinese and Swiss craftsmanship.
The customisation does not stop at a simple signature on the rotor.
The bridges adopt curved, flowing lines inspired by depictions of wind in historic Chinese paintings. An airy motif that deliberately contrasts with the considerable density of the tantalum used for the case and bracelet.
The movement receives a ruthenium treatment and particularly elaborate decoration. The bevels are pronounced, the outer angles carefully executed and the bridges display laser-engraved wavy striping that radiates from the centre of the movement.
The screws benefit from a black polish, while the rotor, also inspired by the wind motifs, is treated in 5N rose gold.
Technically, the automatic calibre has 27 jewels, runs at a frequency of 28 800 vibrations per hour and offers about 48 hours of power reserve.
A meeting between two worlds
The Inflection Shuò takes on its full dimension when considered as a whole.
The 18-carat gold dial is entrusted to a particularly rare Swiss artisanal craft. The tantalum case and bracelet express a contemporary exploration of material and architectural complexity. The Girard-Perregaux movement brings a mechanical base from one of Switzerland’s historic manufactures.
But the visual identity of the watch is profoundly marked by China.
The Chinese numerals, the calligraphy, the huiwen, the architectural references and the wind-inspired motifs in the movement’s decoration are so many signs that allow Atelier Wen not simply to insert an Asian aesthetic into a Western watch.
The approach is more ambitious: to create a common language.
This is precisely what makes this collaboration interesting in the current watchmaking landscape. It does not seek to set Swiss watchmaking against Chinese watchmaking, but to show what they can produce when they bring their skills into dialogue.
Atelier Wen, another vision of Chinese watchmaking
Since its beginnings, Atelier Wen has been advancing on ground still relatively little explored by contemporary watch houses: that of high-end Chinese watchmaking that fully embraces its cultural identity.
The Inflection Shuò represents, in this respect, a particularly symbolic step.
The house does not try to conceal its origin. On the contrary, it places it at the centre of the project and uses it as a source of creation. Chinese calligraphy is not merely a decorative motif added at the last moment. It plays a part in the very construction of the dial.
The encounter with Massena LAB makes it possible to go even further by confronting this identity with one of the most demanding traditions of Swiss finishing.
Massena LAB signs a double first
For William Massena, this collaboration is also a first on several levels.
Massena LAB had never yet collaborated with a Chinese watch house. The Inflection Shuò therefore allows it to explore new creative territory.
But the project also marks the first appearance of tantalum in the world of Massena LAB, and moreover paired with an integrated bracelet.
This choice reflects the New York laboratory’s desire to keep an experimental approach to watchmaking. The material is not chosen to follow a trend, but because it fully contributes to the aesthetic and tactile identity of the watch.
50 pieces for a rare encounter
With only 50 pieces produced, the Atelier Wen x Massena LAB Inflection Shuò naturally belongs to the register of confidential editions.
The 10 pieces entirely in white gold are reserved for established clients of the two houses. The 40 pieces combining white gold and rose gold are, for their part, available to the public on order.
The official launch is scheduled for 26 August 2026, with orders taken via the product pages of Atelier Wen and Massena LAB.
The price is set at 33 800 CHF, before tax.
The first deliveries are announced from the beginning of 2027, in small batches.
An Inflection that lives up to its name
There is something particularly fitting in the name Inflection.
An inflection is a change of direction, a modification of a trajectory. That is exactly what this creation seems to propose.
The Inflection Shuò marks an inflection in the way collaboration between watchmaking cultures is conceived. It shows that a Chinese house can claim its heritage while engaging in dialogue with the most demanding skills of Swiss haute horlogerie.
It also shows that the meeting of two worlds need not necessarily lead to a compromise.
Here, each brings its own language. Atelier Wen brings the culture, the calligraphy and a contemporary vision of Chinese identity. Massena LAB brings its experimental approach and its determination to leave the beaten track. GT Cadrans and Coralie Mercier bring the mastery of a Swiss craft of rare complexity. Girard-Perregaux, finally, provides a mechanical architecture capable of receiving this singular interpretation.
The result is a watch that does not merely juxtapose prestigious signatures. It builds a story around material, light and time.
And when the reflections of the tremblage come to settle on the gold while the tantalum reveals its bluish nuances, the Inflection Shuò seems finally to give full meaning to its name: a watch designed to capture light, but above all to make a new way of thinking about watchmaking shine.
Technical specifications
Atelier Wen x Massena LAB Inflection Shuò
Limited edition: 50 pieces
Case: 99,9 % tantalum
Diameter: 40 mm
Bracelet: integrated, in tantalum
Water resistance: 100 metres
Dial: 18-carat gold, tremblage finish executed by hand
Variants: 10 pieces in white gold and 40 pieces combining white gold and rose gold
Displays: hours, minutes, seconds
Hands: blued steel
Movement: customised automatic calibre GP03300, Girard-Perregaux
Jewels: 27
Frequency: 28 800 vibrations/hour
Power reserve: 48 hours
Price: 33 800 CHF, before tax
Availability: orders from 26 August 2026
Deliveries: from the beginning of 2027, in small batches
Frequently asked questions
A watch born from the collaboration between Atelier Wen and Massena LAB, produced in 50 pieces. It combines an 18-carat gold dial worked by hand in tremblage, a tantalum case and integrated bracelet, and a customised Girard-Perregaux movement.
A particularly rare engraving technique: the engraver moves the tool across the metal while imparting very slight oscillations to it, gradually covering the surface with thousands of small, irregular facets that catch the light.
The automatic GP03300 calibre from Girard-Perregaux, specially customised, with 27 jewels, a frequency of 28 800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) and about 48 hours of power reserve.
99,9 % tantalum, a dense metal resistant to corrosion, with a dark hue shot through with bluish nuances. The 40 mm case and its integrated bracelet adopt curved, almost organic lines.
50 pieces in total: 10 entirely in white gold, reserved for established clients of the two houses, and 40 combining white gold and rose gold, available to the public on order. The price is set at 33 800 CHF, before tax.
Leave a Reply