As jewelry and watch metals go, tantalum boasts a complicated allure. It has an attractive blue-gray color, but a reputation for being exceedingly tough—not because of its hardness (6.5 on the Mohs scale) but rather due to the extreme challenges it poses to manufacturers.
Designated by the symbol Ta and atomic number 73, the metallic element was first identified in 1802 by Swedish chemist Anders Gustaf Ekeberg. It is distinguished by its exceptional density of 16.4 grams per cubic centimeter, more than double that of steel. It also features an extraordinarily high melting point of 3,017 degrees Celsius (5,463 degrees Fahrenheit) and exhibits notable resistance to acids.
That resistance ultimately inspired Ekeberg to name the element after Tantalus, the figure from Greek mythology condemned by Zeus to stand eternally in a pool of water he could never drink, surrounded by unreachable fruit.
Despite its reputation as a nightmare in the manufacturing realm, high-end watchmakers have gravitated to the metal, with more jumping on the tantalum bandwagon in recent years. Many say they are enchanted by its natural blue-gray sheen as well as its exclusivity (due largely to how difficult it is to work).
Take Atelier Wen, a Franco-Chinese brand based in Hong Kong.
“Tantalum has been somewhat of an obsession of mine,” founder Robin Tallendier tells JCK.
In 2024, the boutique watchmaker introduced an early prototype of a full tantalum bracelet watch. Since then, Atelier Wen has “worked on creating a piece that could be produced and sold on a non-limited basis, effectively being the first in the world to achieve this,” Tallendier says.
On Nov. 4, the brand unveiled Inflection, a new series of integrated bracelet watches crafted entirely in 99.9% pure tantalum.
“Instead of trying to simplify the prototype, I decided to go for a design that is significantly more complex than anything that had been done thus far: no exposed flat planes, endless concave and convex surfaces, and a significant amount of mirror polishing,” Tallendier says. “This was done specifically to capture and amplify the natural sheen and beauty of the material. This is also partly why it took so long after we had shown this early prototype in 2024 to actually release a watch.”
Reluctant to introduce “just a ‘piece of metal,’” Tallendier decided to equip the Inflection with a one-off heavily customized 03300 caliber from the Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux.
“Girard-Perregaux’s technical pedigree and capabilities in high-end finishing made them the ideal choice for the new series,” he says. “The curved, sweeping lines and contours of our customized bridges were inspired by motifs of wind in historical Chinese paintings. These elements are a symbolic reflection of lightness that stands in contrast to the weight of the material.”
The dials are made of grand feu enamel—in green, blue, and black—crafted in the Beijing workshop of master enamel Kong Lingjun. “We worked a lot on balance,” Tallendier says. “Inflection is about duality expressed through material, geometry, and finish, so color had to support that idea and sit naturally with tantalum’s bluish gray.”
The Inflection model retails for $29,800 for the full-tantalum bracelet, and $19,800 on a sailcloth and rubber strap with a tantalum buckle. Due to the complexity of its production, Atelier Wen, which is accepting applications from prospective buyers, will limit production to 100 examples during the first year.
Top: Inflection in 40 mm tantalum case with grand feu green enamel dial, $29,800; Atelier Wen
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