Atelier Jalaper - History, Models and Owners' Reviews

I fell in love with the Atelier Jalaper concept, which unites my two passions: watchmaking and automobiles. This AJ002-S allows you to wear a piece of automotive history, since its dial is cut from the hood of an Aston Martin DB5. As a result, each watch is unique (they are also limited in number and numbered), since no two dials are alike. In fact, you can choose the desired "patina level" on the dial. Personally, I opted for as many marks as possible; I see them as scars that bear witness to the life of this legendary car. I find the case and its lugs very original, and I appreciate the fact that the edition number is noted on the edge of the case. I also appreciated the care taken with the packaging when you receive the watch; it's a true unboxing experience, and it's very pleasant.

Being passionate about cars and watches, I hesitated a lot on which model to choose as my first watch. And I discovered AJ which is the perfect combo of what I was looking for, so I chose for my birthday, an AJ-P400 Verde, magnificent color that combines elegance and sportiness, watch that I can wear for any occasion, elegant evening, more sporty outfit. The tonneau case is superb with the polished sides and the brushed top.

I have had the watch for about 6 months, and I wear it regularly, alternating with my other watches. I mainly like dress watches and I was looking for one that was a little sportier without being exuberant. After 2 years of waiting, I placed an order. From then on, I was contacted to choose a dial, several patinas are offered (photos and videos), the customer service is very responsive. The box received includes a handwritten note (very appreciable), a leaflet, a storage box, a travel case and the warranty card in its leather storage. The user experience is great on this point. Concerning the watch: Despite a 40.5mm dial and as I have read several times, it seems smaller and this is an excellent point in my opinion (much smaller than my Seiko Presage Cockatail BlueMoon of the same diameter). Its 18mm lug width, the "checkered" upper and lower parts of the dial and the railway also bring a certain finesse that contrasts with the raw hood of the DB5. This is the very essence of this purchase. A piece of history. What's more, it is very aesthetic, the play of light sublimates the imperfections that diffract the light and offers us a subtle shine. The red seconds hand is really essential in the balance of the watch. A tone-on-tone hand would have seemed blander to me, here the red brings character to the piece. The black PVD case allows the dial to stand out better than on the raw stainless steel version. The hollowed and curved lugs, the edition number and the crown dress this case well. However, the crown is not necessarily easy to handle. The back of the case offers a sapphire to observe the movement. Here I am clearly much more circumspect, the movement is not or little decorated, but especially the mass does not provide any emotion, too bad. A solid back with a DB5 (complete or grille or whatever) would have been much more in keeping with the theme. I chose the original bracelet and in my opinion it works better than all those offered on the site. It remains a matter of taste. It is flexible and very comfortable, a real good point. However, at the beginning the leather squeaked a lot at the level of the lug. Fortunately this has greatly diminished or even disappeared. I preferred to change the buckle to put a deployant to preserve the bracelet over time. In general we talk about the best for the end, I will have to deviate from this rule by talking about the movement. We are talking about a Miyota 8215 for a watch at 900€ including delivery, it hurts a little, especially when I see my Akrone C-04 with a 9039 for around 400€. I am not a movement specialist or a precision fanatic. Given that I change watches every day, they inevitably end up stopping, so whether they are at +5 or +20 seconds at the end of the day, it does not bother me. The big black point that anyone will be able to notice very quickly is the excessive noise of the oscillating weight, more than the 9039 which is also not very discreet. Of all my watches, it is perhaps the noisiest. After all, it is a robust and reliable movement, no worries in the future. Conclusion: I still love it as much, despite the noise of the bracelet (at the beginning only) and the movement (unfortunately forever) I can only recommend this watch. This is the principle of impulse buying, not necessarily reasonable but very satisfying. Aside: Hop hop hop, little news. I ended up noticing a shift in the alignment of the hands. After contacting the after-sales service, I sent the watch at my own expense and it came back to me perfectly adjusted this time about 1 month later.