Atelier Wen: a Great Watch, But Issues
I got my Atelier Wen a few weeks ago. I was pleased as punch, but now I need to vent a bit. In many ways, it's a great watch; they really sweated the details, and they got so many things right. I was going to post at least a few notes about it, if not a review. But then I had an issue, and I held off, pending resolution, which I fully expected. Well, the resolution came, which led immediately to another issue.
Within the first week of getting the watch, the clasp stopped working properly. The buttons got stuck, and it wouldn't open reliably. A few times I thought it was stuck on my wrist. On inspection, one of the tiny rivets on the latch mechanism was missing; you can see it in the first clasp picture. I wrote to Atelier Wen, and they immediately agreed to replace the clasp. It took them a few weeks to get it to me, but it got here on Tuesday, two days ago. I installed it, and I was good to go... or so I thought.
Today I put on the watch, and noticed that the quick adjustment in the clasp (one of the very nice features of the watch) wouldn't hold; it kept slipping. Inspecting it again, I found that one of the tiny screws holding the bar with the latch of the quick adjustment mechanism was missing. Then a short while later, the other screw was gone too, the bar fell out, and the clasp came apart, see second clasp picture. Fortunately this happened when I took off the watch, not while I was wearing it. So two clasps have failed within days of receiving them, and all within a month.
I don't know how many other folks here have an Atelier Wen. If you do, have you had an issue like this? Or am I just supremely unlucky? I don't mean to bad mouth them, and like I said, in many ways it's a great watch. I do think they strive for good customer service, though they seem a bit understaffed and overwhelmed; I chalk that up to growing pains. I hope they resolve this again, and quickly, so I can finally enjoy my watch without issue, though at this point, I may always worry about it a bit in the back of my mind. tl;dr, I needed to vent my frustration a bit out loud, thanks for listening.
Was born. Bought watches. Will die.
Boosting this....this has always been a bit of my concern with the Wen. Everything is homegrown, which is often awesome....but it means that not everythign is tested to actually work over constant repetitive strain.
Let me alert this to AW, will update with response!
Let me alert this to AW, will update with response!
Thanks Max. I've already contacted them, and got a WhatsApp reply, and they promise to follow up. I do expect some resolution. Let's see how it goes.
Mine is from the first batch and it's been worn more often than any other watch in my collection. No issues at all. The button adjustment is fabulous. Timekeeping is excellent.
Mine is from the first batch and it's been worn more often than any other watch in my collection. No issues at all. The button adjustment is fabulous. Timekeeping is excellent.
Good to know. Mine also keeps excellent time. The fact that it doesn't hack is a little odd, though.
Now you are making me nervous. I am part of the April batch. These watches are far too expensive for these QA issues to be viewed as acceptable
Hi @wilfried, your namesake, Wilfried over here! I'm one of the co-founders of Atelier Wen 👋
I'm very sorry to hear about the issues that you've faced with your clasp and promise we'll do whatever we can to make it up to you. While this is most definitely a stroke of bad luck as the failure rate of our clasps has been very low in our latest, it certainly does not excuse having allowed this through and we will do our best to resolve this for you and prevent these issues from happening again. Indeed, as we are preparing for a 3rd production batch, we are studying what design and/or materials changes we may be able to change as well as QC practices we may be able to put in place in order to get this failure rate down to 0 and we are confident that we'll be able to do better next time around in the same way as our 2nd batch saw many improvements compared with the first one. I apologise once more and thank you very much for your support, which has allowed a young brand like ours to reach the stage that it is at today and is making it possible for us to continuously raise the bar on the ambition and refinement of our products.
Thanks again, Wilfried and I'll monitor the resolution process on WhatsApp to make sure we resolve this for you as soon as possible!
Now you are making me nervous. I am part of the April batch. These watches are far too expensive for these QA issues to be viewed as acceptable
I presume you won't be as unlucky as me, there's a lot to like, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I enjoy mine (I got the rubber strap, so I still can), though I wish I could enjoy it more at the moment.
@Max is a friggin horological fairy godmother. Props!
Hi @wilfried, your namesake, Wilfried over here! I'm one of the co-founders of Atelier Wen 👋
I'm very sorry to hear about the issues that you've faced with your clasp and promise we'll do whatever we can to make it up to you. While this is most definitely a stroke of bad luck as the failure rate of our clasps has been very low in our latest, it certainly does not excuse having allowed this through and we will do our best to resolve this for you and prevent these issues from happening again. Indeed, as we are preparing for a 3rd production batch, we are studying what design and/or materials changes we may be able to change as well as QC practices we may be able to put in place in order to get this failure rate down to 0 and we are confident that we'll be able to do better next time around in the same way as our 2nd batch saw many improvements compared with the first one. I apologise once more and thank you very much for your support, which has allowed a young brand like ours to reach the stage that it is at today and is making it possible for us to continuously raise the bar on the ambition and refinement of our products.
Thanks again, Wilfried and I'll monitor the resolution process on WhatsApp to make sure we resolve this for you as soon as possible!
Thank you for your reply, and so promptly. I appreciate any assistance you can offer. I'm willing to chalk this up to supreme bad luck.Clasp issues aside, I do enjoy most everything about the watch.
Nice to meet you, and BTW, Wilfried is the name my German teacher gave me way back in high school (and a handful of school chums called me 'Fried), and I use it as my screen name just about everywhere. I don't think I've ever run into another Wilfried, so I was a little confused, and then amused, when I saw your name in connection with Atelier Wen. 😊
This thread should be required reading to remind folks what makes WC great. @wilfried, you know I love the look of that watch, sorry to hear you ran into that issue, but I am psyched they jumped right into the discussion.
Thank you for your reply, and so promptly. I appreciate any assistance you can offer. I'm willing to chalk this up to supreme bad luck.Clasp issues aside, I do enjoy most everything about the watch.
Nice to meet you, and BTW, Wilfried is the name my German teacher gave me way back in high school (and a handful of school chums called me 'Fried), and I use it as my screen name just about everywhere. I don't think I've ever run into another Wilfried, so I was a little confused, and then amused, when I saw your name in connection with Atelier Wen. 😊
You’re welcome! We’ll be in touch in WhatsApp to resolve this (the France team who’s handling this and is waking up right now should revert shortly). Glad to hear the rest of the watch lives up to expectations nevertheless!
And happy coincidence about the name indeed! I also very rarely come across Wilfrieds with the exact same spelling as my own name (more commonly, Wilfried or Wilfred) so all the more reason to jump in here immediately and try to make things right! 🙂
You’re welcome! We’ll be in touch in WhatsApp to resolve this (the France team who’s handling this and is waking up right now should revert shortly). Glad to hear the rest of the watch lives up to expectations nevertheless!
And happy coincidence about the name indeed! I also very rarely come across Wilfrieds with the exact same spelling as my own name (more commonly, Wilfried or Wilfred) so all the more reason to jump in here immediately and try to make things right! 🙂
Thanks for addressing this! Very classy response, welcome to the crunch 🫡🤝
Thanks for addressing this! Very classy response, welcome to the crunch 🫡🤝
Thank you, Max! Glad to be part of the community 🙂
Mine was part of the second release. I’ve been extremely impressed with the build quality of everything I received. To be candid I have purchased only two microbrands. Furlan Marri limited edition and the Wen. So my comparisons are with Omega Zenith Panerai JLC etc. So I think my standards are pretty high. My watch was purchased with two rubber straps which I have yet to use. I found the bracelet to be spot on after removing two links. The clasp is working perfectly fine . I’m a respectful watch wearer so I’m not inclined to push hard on my pieces. My contacts with Wen have all been positive and have resulted in a positive purchase . While there may be some growing pains I can tell you I’ve experienced none with my piece. So in summary I feel sorry for your situation with the bracelet but from what I’ve read you are going in the right direction. Thanks to Max and the crunch. It’s really a great way to get and give information. All the best.