The French independent watch brand AWAKE is expanding its Son Mài collection with five new models that feature striking "vignette" dials. Launched a year ago, the original Son Mài collection was a notable entry in the watch world for its dedication to Vietnamese craftsmanship, specifically the art of lacquerware. This new release, dubbed the Silver Leaf Vignette collection, builds on that foundation by combining the ancient art with a dial effect popular in the 1970s and 80s, resulting in a series of watches with intense color and visual depth.
Founded in 2019, AWAKE has a clear mission: to spotlight and modernize ancestral artistic crafts from around the globe. This philosophy moves beyond just building a watch; it's about preserving cultural heritage and embedding it within a contemporary object. As founder Lilian Thibault states, "Through the hand of man, we tell what fascinates us, what inspires us, what we want to preserve, and what we want to transmit.” This approach treats watchmaking as a canvas for a broader story of human skill and tradition, aiming to create a connection between the wearer and the distant artisans whose skills are on display.
Courtesy of AWAKE
The soul of these watches lies in their dials, created using the meticulous Vietnamese technique of Son Mài. This process is long, complex, and performed entirely by hand by master lacquerers in Hanoi. It requires immense patience and dexterity, transforming each dial into a unique piece. The journey from raw material to finished product is a testament to the dedication involved in this craft.
It all starts with a rare and precious natural resource: the sap of the Rhus verniciflua tree, found in northern Vietnam. A single tree must grow for a decade before it can be harvested, and even then, it produces only about 200 ml of sap per year. The sap is collected only during the early morning hours in June and July. Once harvested, it is purified and dehydrated to become a clear, durable lacquer known for its protective qualities and brilliant shine.
The Son Mài technique itself is an ancestral art form. It involves the painstaking application of multiple layers of this natural lacquer, with each layer being polished before the next is applied. This superposition creates a finish with incredible depth, almost like looking into a pool of liquid color. What distinguishes the Vietnamese school from its Chinese and Japanese counterparts is the practice of embedding materials like gold, mother-of-pearl, or, in this case, pure silver leaf directly into the lacquer, creating complex textures and light effects.
Courtesy of AWAKE
For the Silver Leaf Vignette collection, pure silver leaves are delicately brushed onto a base layer of dried and polished lacquer. This step is critical, as the application gives the dial an organic, textured surface that interacts with light in a dynamic way. The subtle relief of the silver leaf ensures that the dial's appearance changes with every shift of the wrist, creating a constant sense of life and movement beneath the surface.
Once the silver leaf is in place, the process of coloration begins. Natural pigments are carefully sprayed onto the dial to create the desired hue and contrast. Following this, a dozen more layers of the clear lacquer are applied, one by one. Each of these successive layers must be meticulously polished by hand, a repetitive yet crucial process that builds up the dial's signature shine, provides protection, and imparts a visual depth that seems almost infinite.
This new collection revives the "vignette" dial, an aesthetic that became prominent in watch design during the 1970s and 80s. The term, borrowed from photography, originally described a lens flaw where the periphery of an image would be darker than the center. Watchmakers turned this "defect" into a deliberate design choice, creating smoky, gradient dials that draw the eye inward.
Courtesy of AWAKE
AWAKE has adopted this principle and elevated it through the Son Mài technique. The vignette effect is achieved through subtle color transitions, using different pigments and a careful layering of lacquer to create a strong contrast between the bright, vibrant center and the dark, receding edges. This process isn't quick; creating a single vignette dial takes over ten hours of focused, meditative work by a master artisan.
The result is a powerful visual pull toward the center of the watch. The gradient effect adds a dramatic flair and enhances the chromatic intensity of each dial. It’s a purposeful design that uses color and light to create focus and depth, making the simple act of checking the time a more engaging visual experience.
The collection includes five distinct colorways, four of which are part of the regular collection and one of which is a limited edition. Each dial was developed through experimentation with bold pigments and new combinations of lacquer and silver leaf.
Courtesy of AWAKE
The limited edition of 100 pieces is the Son Mài - Silver Leaf « Golden Hour ». This dial is a warm composition of red, orange, and yellow, inspired by the light just after sunrise and before sunset. The center is a radiant ochre yellow that transitions outward into a vibrant orange and finally to dark tobacco brown at the edges. In bright light, it has the intensity of a solar flare, while in lower light, it takes on the warm glow of embers.
The Son Mài - Silver Leaf « Carmine Red » is a powerful and provocative option. This dial features a deep, intense red at its center that fades to a near-black at the periphery. The color is symbolic of passion and courage, and its deep reflections give it a stimulating energy that immediately catches the eye. The texture of the silver leaf beneath the red lacquer adds a subtle shimmer, enhancing its vibrancy.
For a bolder statement, the Son Mài - Silver Leaf « Ultra Violet » offers a complex and captivating purple. The vignette gradient darkens the edges, which amplifies the intensity of the purple center and gives it a mysterious, almost spiritual quality. It’s a modern and assertive look during the day that becomes intriguing in the dark.
Courtesy of AWAKE
The Son Mài - Silver Leaf « Moonlight Blue » is inspired by the transitional "blue hour" between day and night. It blends several blue pigments to achieve a unique intensity, with a gradient that moves from a light, airy blue in the middle to a deep, mysterious midnight blue at the dial’s edge. This version exudes a calm, almost meditative energy.
Finally, the Sön Mài - Silver Leaf « Palladium » presents a more understated and subtle choice. Its gradient ranges from a luminous light gold to a deep brown. It provides a modern alternative to traditional beige or brown dials, offering a refined look that can complement both contemporary and vintage styles with its warm, soothing tones.
Beyond the artistic dials, the AWAKE Silver Leaf Vignette watches are built with quality components and thoughtful design. The case is crafted from recycled 316L stainless steel and measures a versatile 39mm in diameter, with a lug-to-lug distance of 45.6mm and a thickness of 11.8mm, making it suitable for a wide range of wrists.
Courtesy of AWAKE
A standout technical feature is the unique luminous signature. Drawing inspiration from the Japanese aesthetic of chiaroscuro, or the interplay of light and shadow, AWAKE developed an innovative construction for its hands and indices. They are crafted from a solid base of BGW9 Super-LumiNova® that is then capped with a thin layer of faceted, polished steel. By day, the application is subtle. In the dark, however, this creates a stunning backlighting effect, where the lume glows from behind the steel cap, providing exceptional depth and allowing the hypnotic reflections of the lacquer to remain visible.
To power the collection, AWAKE chose the G101 caliber from the reputable Swiss manufacturer La Joux-Perret. Visible through a sapphire case back, this automatic movement is known for its reliability and precision, and it offers a healthy 68-hour power reserve. AWAKE has customized the movement with an exclusive tungsten oscillating weight, featuring alternating sandblasted, polished, and micro-blasted finishes that play with light. This rotor is encircled by an engraved ring bearing the brand's claim: "Artisanship, Awakened."
The watches are fitted with straps that are handcrafted in Franche-Comté, the heart of French watchmaking, by the Bouveret company. Each strap undergoes a 60-step process and is made from nubuck bull calfskin or suede, chosen to complement the dial colors. For increased comfort and durability, every strap is lined with a rubberized calfskin to resist moisture and wear.
Courtesy of AWAKE
The AWAKE Silver Leaf Vignette collection aims to offer a compelling package of artistic craftsmanship and solid watchmaking specifications. The four regular collection models—Carmine Red, Ultra Violet, Moonlight Blue, and Palladium—and the limited-edition Golden Hour (100 pieces) are priced at $2,500. This positions the collection as an accessible entry point into the world of watches featuring Métiers d'Art dials, backed by a Swiss mechanical movement and French-made accessories.
Case: Recycled 316L stainless steel; 39mm diameter; 45.6mm lug-to-lug; 11.8mm thickness; 20mm lug width; Anti-reflective sapphire crystal front and screw-down sapphire exhibition case back; 5 ATM (50m) water resistance.
Movement: La Joux-Perret G101 automatic caliber; 68-hour power reserve; Custom tungsten rotor with alternating brushed, micro-blasted, and polished finishes.
Dial: Handcrafted using the Vietnamese Son Mài technique with pure silver leaf and natural lacquer; "Vignette" gradient effect; Hands and indices made from a solid base of BGW9 Super-LumiNova® with a faceted polished steel cap for a backlighting effect.
Strap: Handcrafted in France; Nubuck bull calfskin or suede with a rubberized calfskin lining; 20mm tapering to 16mm.
Price: $2,500
Notes: Each dial is a unique piece of art requiring over 10 hours of manual labor by a master lacquerer. The brand's exclusive luminous signature is designed to create a backlighting effect, drawing inspiration from the Japanese aesthetic of chiaroscuro.