BEIJING – When Chinese brand Atelier Wen released its first watch in 2018, it was not sure whether a pricey Chinese watch – that was unabashedly marketed as such – would have an easy time finding buyers.

The Porcelain Odyssey, which featured a porcelain dial adorned with Chinese characters and made in China, was priced at about US$700 (S$938). The limited run of 570 pieces in various colours sold out in 2019.

Co-founder Robin Tallendier took that as a sign that there was demand for such a product – and with the next series of watches released in 2022, what started out as a passion project became a viable business.

“Our ambition as a brand is to celebrate Chinese culture and craftsmanship,” said Mr Tallendier, one of the company’s two French founders and watch aficionados who met while studying in Beijing. He currently splits his time among France, Singapore and China.

“We realised that the only way to be credible is to make truly world-class watches out of China,” he told The Straits Times.

In recent years, Chinese brands such as Atelier Wen have been gathering international attention for delivering competitive – and to some enthusiasts, compelling – high-end watches, in an industry traditionally dominated by Swiss, German and Japanese brands.

China is no longer simply mass-producing affordable watches but also moving up the value...