Introducing: The Awake Sơn Mài Fragments In Three Mesmeric Colors
The Awake Sơn Mài Fragments collection brings together the ancient Japanese art of Raden (inlaying of shell), traditional Vietnamese lacquer, and Swiss watchmaking. The dials comprise hand-laid mother-of-pearl fragments sealed beneath layers of natural lacquer. Offered in three limited editions (Green, Blue, and Pink), these watches showcase Awake’s mission to make metiers d’art available in more accessible segments.
A year after the first Sơn Mài models introduced Hanoi’s lacquer artistry to the watch world, Awake returns with these new versions. Join me for a closer look at some rather special new dials.
The Awake Sơn Mài Fragments in Context
The Awake Sơn Mài Fragments collection follows the success of the brand’s first Sơn Mài series, which combined traditional Vietnamese lacquer with silver leaf. This new trio evolves that concept by adding mother-of-pearl.
The earlier silver vignette version
Awake’s founder, Lilian Thibault, describes the collection as a meeting of worlds: “The Fragments line was born from the idea of uniting cultures within the tiny space of a watch dial.” The Fragments combines Swiss watchmaking with Vietnamese and Japanese crafts.
Awake Sơn Mài Fragments specifications
The Awake Sơn Mài Fragments watches each come in a 39mm case crafted from recycled 316L stainless steel. This case has a 45.6mm lug-to-lug and an 11.8mm profile, including the sapphire crystal. Its design is clean and modern, with sensible proportions. A sapphire display in the case back reveals the movement within. Awake rates the watch’s water resistance at 50 meters.
Powering each watch is the automatic La Joux-Perret G101 caliber, offering a 68-hour power reserve. Its tungsten rotor features alternating brushed, polished, and micro-beaded surfaces and bears the engraving “La Joux-Perret for Awake.”
Completing the package are handmade Jean Rousseau straps in matte calfskin leather, lined with Alcantara in tones matched to each dial — forest green, midnight blue, or purple. Each strap features tone-on-tone stitching, quick-release spring bars, and a recycled steel pin buckle. The price is set at €2,250 excluding tax, and each watch comes with a three-year international warranty.
The Fragments dials
Creating the dials of the Awake Sơn Mài Fragments takes nearly 15 hours of manual work, performed by master lacquerers in Hanoi. The process begins with sap harvested from the Rhus verniciflua tree, which takes a decade to mature and yields just 200ml per year. Once purified, this lacquer is renowned for its clarity and depth.
Each dial starts with a metal base, which is then hand-coated with black lacquer and polished to a mirror finish. Tiny mother-of-pearl fragments are then placed individually with tweezers. Smaller pieces go down first to form the background, and larger ones come later to build texture and dimension. Green, blue, or pink pigments are then sprayed over the surface, tinting the nacre without muting its glow.
Finally, about a dozen layers of clear lacquer are applied, dried, sanded, and polished. This patient ritual seals the fragments beneath a transparent skin, creating an almost liquid sense of depth. The party doesn’t stop there. Awake reverses the typical lume application. A lumed layer sits under the indexes and hands, providing a neatly glowing outline. It reminds me of the neon strips under the cars in Need for Speed.
Initial impressions
I deeply appreciate Awake for its effort in bringing handcrafted dials to a more accessible price point. I also applaud the brand for its creativity. Little elements like the reversed lume really add a unique touch.
I would love to go hands-on with these, as the dials look very promising. My favorite is the pink one, particularly because of its coarser mother-of-pearl flakes. It reminds me of a fascinating melting pot of 1980s Memphis-style graphic design and deep-space photography. The other two trigger associations with tropical fish scales or hummingbird feathers.
Lastly, I would like to mention Awake’s effective balancing of design elements. The case, hands, and indexes are individually interesting, but they conspire to put the dial front and center. They set a beautiful yet non-distracting stage for the dial to shine. Too many brands would overdo it, ruining the visual hierarchy. There are no such issues here! With only 100 watches made of each color, I reckon these should sell out quickly.
What do you think of the new Awake Sơn Mài Fragments? Let us know in the comments section below!
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