Ancestra 蛟 (Jiāo)

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A polished nod to the noblest of mythologies
The inaugural edition in our new dress watch collection, Ancestra, 蛟 (JIĀO), draws its form from a folkloric lineage spanning millennia. With a case inspired by the sinuous forms of the Hongshan jade dragon carvings (猪龙, zhū lóng) — mankind's very first recorded depictions of dragons, it fuses contemporary design with deep cultural significance.

蛟 (JIĀO) also features a hand-hammered, grand feu enamel dial crafted laboriously by the talents of Kong Lingjun’s enamel workshop, as well as an all-new, heavily customised, high-performance movement by the French manufacture, Pequignet.

When Perception was first conceived, its chief inspirations were the traditional cues found throughout Chinese architecture. A key feature of many traditional Chinese architectural compounds was the presence of 盆景 (pén jǐng), or landscape gardens which were placed at the heart of a home or courtyard to serve as visual and symbolic centres.

The choice of Pietersite, with its deep blue-black tones and swirling patterns, naturally echoes the visual imprint and spirit of 山水盆景 (shānshuǐ pénjǐng), or mountain-water landscape gardens, the oldest and most classical renditions of such gardens. Its swirling patterns mimic their cascading streams, and its foundational bands of dark quartz evoke the weathered rock faces rising from those waters.

Case:

• 904L stainless steel case with contrasting surfaces and exceptional attention to finish.
• 38mm (Diameter) X 46mm (LUG-TO-LUG).
• 11.3mm thickness (9.05mm excluding crystals)
• Screw-down crown.
• Water resistant to 100m/10ATM.

Dial:

• Hand-hammered, 925 silver dial base
• Grand feu, fumé enamel dial with deep cobalt by the workshop of Kong Lingjun.
• Calligraphed odd hour markers in traditional Chinese numerals (Variant 1),
• Bamboo-inspired even hour markers in Western-Arabic numerals (Variant 2)
  Alternating lab-grown baguette-cut diamonds

Hands:

• Tri-planed, voluminous rhodium-plated “leaf” hands.
• Frosted mid-plane and high-polished, deeply concave side planes.
• Hand-bent minute hand.

Crystal:

• Double-domed sapphire box crystal with 5 layers of anti-reflective coating.
  

Caseback:

• Full-display, slightly domed sapphire crystal case back
• 5 layers of anti-reflective coating

Movement:

• Heavily-customised Pequignet Calibre EPM03.
• 3/4 bridge with circular, deeply micro-etched Chinese manuscript of 446 characters from the ancient Chinese poem, 天问 (tiān wèn).
• Black-polished ratchet return wheel and balance bridge.
• Skeletonised, mono-bloc tungsten rotor with mixed finishing — frosting, colimaçonnage, laser-engraved 回纹 (huí wén), plated in 5N rose gold.
• Bi-directional, automatic winding with patented winding gear and “Pellaton” lever system. Also supports manual-winding.
• 21 jewels.
• 28,800 bph.
• 65 hour power reserve.
• 4/+6s per day (with an average of +/-2s per day).
• Adjusted in 6 positions and to three temperatures.
• Hacking Function

Bracelet:

• 904l brushed stainless bracelet with individually chamfered links and exceptional attention to finish.
• Tapering from 22mm at the case to 18mm at the clasp, and thinning gradually from 3mm at the case to 2.6mm at the clasp.
• Quick-release spring bars.

Strap:

• Hand-stitched, full-grain leather strap with Epsom upper and Zermatt lining.
• 20mm width (at the case), tapering to 16mm at the buckle.
• Steel buckle with mixed finishing (hand-applied, high-polished bevels and angles, strong satin brushing) and traditional, lacquer-filled Atelier Wen seal.
• Quick-release spring bars.