Introducing Awake Celebrates the First Anniversary of the Sơn Mài Silver Leaf

A year ago, the young French brand AWAKE introduced the Sơn Mài collection, showcasing Vietnamese craftsmanship in watchmaking for the first time. This pioneering release paved the way for a fresh approach to Métiers d’Art, rooted in the preservation of ancestral skills while embedding them within contemporary culture.

To celebrate its first anniversary, AWAKE now unveils five new “Silver Leaf” dials, blending sanded Vietnamese lacquer with pure silver leaf, an artisanal technique exclusive to the brand.

Steeped in a centuries-old tradition, the Sơn Mài technique involves applying, layering, and polishing natural lacquer until achieving a mirror-like finish of exceptional depth. Unlike the Chinese and Japanese schools, Vietnamese artisans enrich the lacquer with precious materials, gold, mother-of-pearl, and in this case, silver leaf, producing unique textures, reliefs, and luminous contrasts.

The AWAKE Sơn Mài watches are housed in a 39 mm case crafted from recycled 316L stainless steel. The case measures 11.80 mm in thickness including the crystal (10.90 mm excluding it). The polished bezel, case middle, and lugs are highlighted by an elegant chamfer running from lug to lug, while the case flanks are finished with a contrasting horizontal brushing.

For this anniversary, AWAKE expands the Silver Leaf line with five new interpretations: Ultra Violet, a complex purple dial that plays with light to heighten its mystery; Palladium, subtle and refined with a gradient shifting from luminous light gold to deep brown; Carmine Red, bold and provocative with striking intensity; Moonlight Blue, inspired by moonlight and the “blue hour,” blending several blue pigments for a captivating depth; and finally, Golden Hour, limited to 100 pieces, which captures the fleeting warmth of sunrise and sunset in rich hues of red, orange, and yellow.

These new Silver Leaf versions feature the exclusive AWAKE luminous signature unveiled at the launch of the first Sơn Mài collection. 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

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.

As all Son Mai Silver Leaf collection, powering these timepieces is the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement, known for its 68-hour power reserve and 28,800 vph frequency. This movement features a custom tungsten oscillating weight with intricate reliefs and hollows, creating a visually captivating effect. 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.

Each version is paired with a nubuck bull calfskin or suede strap in gray, blue, brown, or black, secured by a recycled stainless steel pin buckle. While the Golden Hour is limited to 100 pieces, the other four editions are permanent. All are priced at €2,000 (approximately AED 8,670).

For more information, visit the company official website.