Introducing: The Awake Sơn Mài Silver Vignette Collection
It was one year ago that Awake introduced the Sơn Mài collection, ushering in a significant change for the young French brand. The watches, with their Vietnamese handmade dials, found immediate success. A combination of laquer, pigment, and silver leaf results in inky-abyss-like levels of depth to each dial. Now, to celebrate a year since the first release, the Sơn Mài Silver Vignette collection is here, bringing a new feature.
I’ve mentioned this in previous Awake reviews, but the Sơn Mài collection was a game-changer for the small company. A new level of finishing for the cases, a more serious movement, and handmade dials have come together to create a highly successful line. In the last year, the collection has been augmented with new textures, film-related pieces, and now the Silver Vignette watches.
The Awake Sơn Mài Silver Vignette
Awake’s latest releases follow a form similar to previous editions. This translates to a recycled 316L stainless steel case with moderate dimensions. A 39mm diameter, a 45.6mm lug-to-lug, and an 11.8mm total thickness make for a nice daily watch. In addition, a 50m water resistance rating keeps it out of “pure dress watch” territory. In keeping with land-based activities, each watch comes with a nubuck calfskin or suede strap. The colors include brown, gray, black, taupe, and blue. Bouveret, a saddler in Franche-Comté, France, handcrafts each of these 20mm straps.
Five new gradient dials
What makes the Silver Vignette collection different from prior releases is the addition of a gradient effect. For these dials, artisans use dehydrated Rhus verniciflua tree sap from Northern Vietnam as the lacquer. Once a layer of the material is added to the dial blank, it undergoes sanding and polishing. After that, silver leaf is added to the dial by hand, and pigment is then sprayed on top of it. Each dial then receives a dozen layers of lacquer with a sanding and polishing process after each.
If you’ve never seen one of the recent Awake creations, believe me when I say that they’re lovely in person. As mentioned, the dials are like deep pools of vibrant color. Plus, with the silver leaf’s texture, each piece is unique. The watches have blue-emitting Super-LumiNova BGW9 behind polished steel indexes and hands. It’s an absolute torch in the dark!
For options, Awake is offering Ultra Violet, Palladium, Carmine Red, Moonlight Blue, and Golden Hour variants. That last one is a limited edition of 100 pieces. The dials all feature lighter centers and then darken toward the edges. From the photos, some colors show a more dramatic transition, but all differ from last year’s initial releases.
A La Joux-Perret G101 with decoration
Like other Sơn Mài pieces, the Silver Vignette is equipped with the automatic La Joux-Perret G101. It has 68 hours of power reserve and a frequency of 28,800vph. Awake decorates the movement with a custom tungsten rotor and a laser-engraved movement holder. This is on show via a screw-in case back with a sapphire display.
Final thoughts on the new Sơn Mài Silver Vignette
After a year of production, it’s nice to see that Awake has only increased prices by €50 for its regular-series Sơn Mài models. Each retails for €2,000 (excluding taxes) and comes with a two-year warranty. I’ve always felt that this is a fair price for watches with such outstanding dials. Then, the case design, dimensions, and movement help further substantiate the business case. Now, with these subtle gradient dials, I expect the watches to find a wider audience due to slightly more conservative styling. Regardless, they’re lovely. Let us know what you think of these pieces and which color is your favorite.
This is a partnership post. Read about our transparency here.
