Introducing The Awake Sơn Mài Silver Leaf Collection

Launched in 2024, the Silver Leaf collection ushered in a new era for the seven-year-old French brand and marked Awake’s first real step into the Métiers d’Art. Now that tradition continues, with three new additions to the main line and one special limited edition. Java Green, Gentian Blue, and Indian Red are permanent, while Purple Viola is capped at 200 pieces. Awake calls the new dials “Vignette,” after the gradient style that emerged in the 1970s, with darker tones around the perimeter fading to lighter shades at the centre.

All four come in a redesigned 38mm stainless steel case that measures 44.75mm lug-to-lug and 11.5mm thick. It also carries Awake’s new brand identity: a handwritten logo that first appeared in May with the Sơn Mài Guilloché collection and continues here.

As is now becoming a signature for the brand, the dials come out of a lacquer workshop in Hanoi, and they take time. Each one takes more than ten hours to apply and polish roughly twelve layers of pigmented lacquer over sheets of silver leaf. Awake says that limits it to about 100 dials per year for each permanent model.

Awake has also become known for its use of lume. The Chiaroscuro luminous signature flips the usual approach, with sculpted steel caps set over blocks of Super-LumiNova BGW9 instead of lume painted onto the markers and hands.

Inside is the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic, which offers a 68-hour power reserve and now sits under a new tungsten rotor. The case is good for 100 meters of water resistance. Every watch ships on a Jean Rousseau and Bouveret strap handcrafted in France, in alcantara or nubuck lined with rubberised calfskin. The straps feature quick-release spring bars and the new Fitwell M1 micro-adjustable pin buckle.

The Awake Sơn Mài Silver Leaf collection retails for €2,640 (around A$4,300) including VAT. Deliveries start in late November.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Awake a few times over the last few months, first at Chronopolis in Geneva and then at Wind-Up in both Chicago and New York, and consistently, they have one of the most distinctive setups at these shows. The vibrant, deep colours and designs draw you in, and the story behind each dial keeps you there. With each dial being slightly unique, there’s something mesmerising about looking (or taking out your loupe) deeper into the dial. Each is unmistakably Awake. And that tradition is pushed further here, in what is my favourite execution yet.

The Vignette styling is executed extremely well, and the scale of the gradient is just right, fading to black to make way for the indices. At 38mm, this is sized very well indeed. Also, it must be said, if you haven’t seen these in person, make your way to the next Wind-Up, because the lume is my favourite part. It’s so unexpected and also executed with care. It doesn’t need to be there, which makes it even better that it’s included and executed this well.

It’s a lot of watch for less than $3,000 USD. Flip it over and Awake tells you exactly what it’s up to. The text around the movement reads “Illuminating the hands and heritage behind rare crafts.” Awake is doing that both literally and figuratively, and at a level well beyond what you’d expect from a brand this young.

Brand: Awake
Model: Sơn Mài Silver Leaf
Diameter: 38mm
Thickness: 11.5mm including crystal, 10mm excluding crystal
Case Material: 316L stainless steel
Dial Colour: Java Green, Gentian Blue, Indian Red, and Purple Viola (limited edition), in silver leaf and Sơn Mài lacquer
Indexes: Sculpted steel caps in polished and brushed finishes, set over blocks of lume
Lume: Super-LumiNova BGW9, Chiaroscuro signature
Water Resistance: 100m
Strap/Bracelet: Handcrafted in France by Jean Rousseau and Bouveret, in alcantara or nubuck lined with rubberised calfskin, with quick-release spring bars and a Fitwell M1 micro-adjustable pin buckle

Calibre: La Joux-Perret G101
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Diameter: 25.6mm (11½ lignes)
Thickness: 4.45mm
Power Reserve: 68 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4Hz)
Jewels: 24
Chronometer Certified: No

Price: €2,640 (A$4,300) including VAT
Availability: Java Green, Gentian Blue, and Indian Red are permanent collection pieces, at roughly 100 per year each. Deliveries start in late November.
Limited Edition: Yes, Purple Viola, individually numbered and limited to 200 pieces worldwide

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