Awake Son Mai - Silver Leaf “Vignette” – Posts

After the success of its inaugural Son Mai – Silver Leaf collection, unveiled just a year ago and quickly sold out, Awake expands the line with five new colors — including a limited edition, inspired by the iconic “vignette” gradient dials of the 1970s.

A year ago, the young French brand introduced the Sơn Mài collection, highlighting Vietnamese craftsmanship in the watchmaking industry for the first time and paving the way for a new approach to Métiers d'Art, based on the desire to preserve ancestral skills while embedding them in contemporary culture.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Moonlight Blue»

To celebrate this first anniversary, Awake has designed five new ‘Silver Leaf’ dials, combining sanded Vietnamese lacquer with pure silver leaf – an entirely artisanal technique exclusive to the brand.

The quintessence of watchmaking, a heritage of Humanity, artistic crafts allow us to express the beauty of a world and traditions whose value and importance we have gradually forgotten. Through the hand of man, we tell what fascinates us, what inspires us, what we want to preserve, and what we want to transmit” Lilian Thibault - Founder of Awake.

Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf

The result of meticulous know-how, the Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf technique requires unparalleled concentration and dexterity from the master lacquerers, and is based on a long and complex process carried out entirely by hand:

A rare and precious raw material

It all begins with the sap of the Rhus verniciflua tree, which grows in northern Vietnam. After a decade of growth, each tree produces only 200 ml of sap per year, harvested exclusively in the early morning hours of June and July. Purified and dehydrated, this sap becomes a transparent lacquer, renowned for its shine and protective qualities.

A unique ancestral Vietnamese art

Inherited from a centuries-old tradition, the Sơn Mài technique consists of applying, superimposing, and then polishing multiple layers of natural lacquer until a mirror-like finish of unparalleled depth is achieved. Unlike Chinese and Japanese schools, Vietnamese artisans incorporate precious materials into the lacquer—gold, mother-of-pearl, and here, silver leaf—creating unique textures, reliefs, and plays of light.

The incomparable brilliance of silver leaf

On a first layer of dried lacquer, sanded and polished to perfection, the pure silver leaves are delicately applied with a brush. This extremely precise gesture gives the dial an organic texture, a vibrant relief and changing reflections that capture the light with intensity.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Ultra Violet»

Captivating colors and exceptional visual depth

Once the silver leaf is applied, natural pigments are sprayed onto the dial to give it its color and contrasts. Then a dozen successive layers of lacquer are applied and polished one by one, providing shine, protection, and almost infinite visual depth.

A unique work of art

The entire process, which requires patience, dexterity and extreme concentration, transforms each dial into a unique piece. A true meeting of tradition and modernity, Sơn Mài “Silver Leaf” elevates Vietnamese craftsmanship to the rank of watchmaking art, giving each watch a unique, singular face that is incomparable to any other technique.

Awake Son Mai - Silver Leaf “Vignette”

Always further...

The result of Awake's constant experimentation with its techniques, to extract their quintessence and fuel its creativity, the dials of these five new versions recall the magnificent "Vignette" dials emblematic of the 1970s and 1980s and their "smoked-gradient" effects, drawing attention to the center by creating a strong contrast with the surroundings.

The term "Vignette" borrowed from photography and optics, originally referred to a lens defect that reduced the light input to the periphery of the image, leaving the center brighter. Transposed to watchmaking, this aesthetic becomes an asset: a unique visual depth and chromatic intensity’’. Lilian Thibault - Founder of Awake.

Each dial thus offers a captivating visual and chromatic effect, generated by subtle color transitions achieved using several different pigments and a meticulous layering of lacquer, irrevocably drawing the eye to its center. It takes more than ten hours to create a single dial to achieve the desired visual and emotional result. A long time fueled by passion, almost meditative, which questions the value of time, but also and above all what we do with it.

Striking colors and textures: 4 versions in regular collection

To design the dials for these five new versions, the Master Lacquer Artists pushed the boundaries of their art: experimenting with bolder colors, combining lacquer and silver leaf in different ways, and meticulously layering pigments and successive layers of lacquer. The result: dials with captivating, vibrant gradients that capture the light and irrevocably draw the eye to their center.

Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Ultra Violet»

Provocative and captivating, this complex purple plays with light to accentuate its mystery. The vignette gradient obscures its edges, reinforcing its intensity and spiritual aura. Modern and assertive by day, it becomes intriguing and almost mystical in the dark. A bold watch, designed as a true style statement.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Ultra Violet»

Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Palladium»

Elegant and subtle, this dial displays a gradient ranging from a luminous light gold to a deep brown. Both understated and refined, it symbolizes clarity and purity, while diffusing a warm and soothing atmosphere. A modern alternative to classic beige or brown tones, it combines discretion and sophistication.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Palladium»

Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Carmine Red»

Deep and provocative, carmine red has stood the test of time as a symbol of passion, courage, and seduction. Here, it appears in intense shades, from vibrant red to deep black, creating a powerful and stimulating dial. Its depth and reflections irresistibly attract the eye, infusing its wearer with energy and vitality.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Carmine Red»

Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Moonlight Blue»

Inspired by moonlight and the “blue hours,” this dial blends several blue pigments for a unique intensity. From airy light blue to mysterious midnight blue, it exudes a soothing energy and an almost meditative calm. Discreet yet rich in nuances, it embodies sobriety and elegance, while evoking the poetic transition between day and night.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Moonlight Blue»

Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Golden Hour» - Limited edition of 100 units

Inspired by the fleeting “golden hours” following sunrise or preceding sunset, this limited edition of 100 pieces is adorned with warm red, orange, and yellow hues. Like the Impressionists seeking to capture light, the artisans create a radiant ochre yellow center that fades into a vibrant orange and then covers itself in tobacco shades. By day, the dial shines like a solar flare; by night, it takes on the incandescent glow of embers…

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Golden Hour» Limited Edition

A poetic invitation to slow down and fully experience the present moment, even if it is fleeting’’. Thibaut Sacre - COO.

Technical and poetic luminescence

These new Silver Leaf versions feature the exclusive Awake luminous signature unveiled at the launch of the first Sơn Mài collection. Innovative, creative, and highly technical, it draws inspiration from the Japanese aesthetic of chiaroscuro, a concept poetically explored by Junichirō Tanizaki in In Praise of Shadows, according to which beauty is found in our subtle relationship with objects and the play of light that preserves their mystery.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Golden Hour» Limited Edition

Moving away from traditional construction methods, the Awake hands and indexes are crafted from a thin, solid base of BGW9 Super-LumiNova®, delicately machined and then coated with a layer of faceted polished steel. This unique construction, very subtle by day, creates a stunning backlighting effect in the dark, with exceptional depth, allowing one to understand the work of the lacquer through its hypnotic reflections.

Innovation has always been part of our DNA and we were determined, through our lighting signature, to bring a touch of modernity that would enhance the work of the craftsman and pay tribute to him”. Benjamin Brossard - Product & Innovation Engineer

Caliber LJP G101

To bring the Sơn Mài collection to life, Awake selected the Swiss watch manufacturer La Joux-Perret and its G101 caliber. Behind the sapphire crystal comes a reliable and precise movement with meticulous finishing, equipped with a 68-hour power reserve. It is adorned with an oscillating weight exclusive to Awake in tungsten playing on reliefs and reflections sublimated by alternating sandblasted, polished and micro-blasted finishes.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Golden Hour» Limited Edition

The whole is encircled by a ring with micro-blasted finishes, on which the details relating to each version as well as the brand motto « Artisanship, Awakened » are engraved.

Straps handmade in France

These 5 new models are paired with straps selected to elegantly extend the colors and subtleties of each dial, or on the contrary, to bring them out. Handcrafted by the master saddlers of the Bouveret company located in Franche-Comté, their production requires no fewer than 60 steps following strict specifications prioritizing comfort and longevity. Each strap is lined with rubberized calfskin for increased resistance to humidity and wear.

Awake Sơn Mài - Silver Leaf «Palladium»

An unparalleled value/emotion proposition

Unique dials handcrafted like works of art, a complex, original and exclusive luminous signature, a renowned Swiss caliber, cases and buckles in recycled stainless steel, bracelets handcrafted in France, at a price of 2000
Euros excluding taxes.

Never straying from our vision – to showcase the beauty of the world – we work tirelessly to deliver a proposition of value, quality, technicality and emotion that is unrivaled in our price segment.” Thibaut Sacre - COO.