Awake: the hallmark of artistic craftsmanship
At Awake, the dials are often the main talking points of the new releases. With the Son Mài – Guilloché Main lineup, the brand goes the extra mile, bringing together for the very first time two crafting techniques that seldom share the spotlight: traditional hand-guilloché from Italy and Vietnamese Son Mài lacquer. Far from being a mere adornment, this combination is the highlight of this lineup. But everything has changed at Awake. The case, the strap, the buckle, the calibre, and even the logo. We break it all down with Lilian Thibault, founder of the brand, and Frank Sans C.
Hand-guilloché and Sơn Mài: love at first sight
In the world of watchmaking, the hand-crafted dials often serve bring a technique into the spotlight. Seldom two. Yet, with its new Sơn Mài – Guilloché Main lineup, Awake has chosen to layer two techniques which seem almost poles apart: hand-guilloché, executed on century-old machines in Italy, and the Vietnamese art of Sơn Mài — a lacquering technique improved over centuries in Southeast Asia. The result goes far further than just adding two traditional crafts. Above all, it is all about how these two distinct processes interact to bring a striking sense of depth to the dial.
It all begins in the workshop of the Renzetti family, one of Europe’s last remaining experts in hand-guilloché work. Using a 19th-century straight-line engine or a Rose Machine, the craftsmen engrave directly into the metal, simultaneously controlling the rotation of the dial and the movement of the graver. The operation requires as much thoroughness as experience; the slightest slip-up will lead to start the whole process from scratch. Depending on the iterations, the patterns are shaped like ripples, sunrays, or spirals, each made up of hundreds of ridges whose unique variations makes every dial one of a kind.
The focus on light
The second stage takes place thousands of miles away, in Vietnam. This is where Sơn Mài comes into play — a lacquering technique derived from the sap of the Rhus Verniciflua tree. Far from being a mere coloured coating brushed onto a finished dial, this lacquer plays a direct part in building its visual depth. Applied in several layers and then hand-polished, it settles into the ridges of the guilloché work, highlighting the depth and profoundly transforming the way light comes across the metal surface.
This is, for sure, the main talking point of this lineup. While the guilloché work provides the structure, the Sơn Mài brings depth to this timepiece. One plays with texture, the other with transparency; one catches the light, the other lets it out. Viewed from different angles, the dials are constantly shifting. The ridges appear, vanish, and then, reappear depending on the light intensity, which creates a sense of dynamism rarely seen in timepieces (that is, in this price bracket).
Three dials, one philosophy
The brand underlines this craftsmanship thanks to three limited runs of 200 pieces each. As the result of roughly fifteen hours of work, ‘Sunset’ showcases a draped-moiré pattern inspired by the 1930s, evoking the ripples of water, with purple, pink, and blue gradients suggesting the colours of sunset.
“Alba” showcases a helical guilloché work whose orange and red reflections evoke the very first light of day. And last but not least, “Borealis” uses a radiating adornment covered in green hues inspired by the Northern Lights.
Beneath these distinct chromatic universes, the approach remains exactly the same: to use colour not as mere adornment, but as an extension of the mechanical work carried out on the metal. This lineup also marks the arrival of a new 38mm case at Awake. More compact, fitted with a screw-down crown and water-resistant to 100 metres, featuring the La Joux-Perret G101 self-winding calibre, which delivers roughly a 68-hour power reserve. A concrete technical foundation, yet one that almost takes a back seat.
For in this lineup, the true movement is the one unfolding across the surface of the dial. Indeed, they revive another of the brand’s hallmark — this time visual. To preserve the flawless beauty of the dials while intensifying their depth, the hands and hour markers are coated with luminescent material and topped with a thin, faceted, and polished steel blade. Evoking the Japanese concept of chiaroscuro, this backlighting effect is a triumph, turning the space between the sapphire crystal and the dial into a chamber of luminous reflection. The lacquer and guilloché work are thus magnified.
Last but by no means least, the final touch: the green, purple, or orange Alcantara straps — lined with rubberised calfskin and finished with coloured stitching by Jean Rousseau — are featuring the new Fitwell M1 micro-adjustable pin buckle, ensuring a perfect adjustment in 3mm increments.
€3,180
Sơn Mài – Guilloché Main – “Alba“ – “Sunset“ and “Borealis“: Limited and numbered editions of 200 pieces per dial.
Technical Specifications:
Case: 316L stainless steel
Diameter: 38mm
Lug-to-lug dimensions: 44.75 mm
Lug width: 20 mm
Thickness: 11.50mm including crystal / 10mm excluding crystal
Craftsmanship dials: entirely handcrafted using two ancestral artistic crafts brought together for the very first time in watchmaking: hand-guilloché work and Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquer.
Hour markers and hands: Super-LumiNova® BGW9, AWAKE’s exclusive “capped” luminous hallmark.
Water-resistant to 100 metres
Crystal: anti-reflective treated sapphire crystal
Case back: screw-down case back, sapphire crystal
Movement: La Joux-Perret G101 self-winding – 68-hour power reserve
Adornment: new custom tungsten rotor, alternating recessed and raised elements with brushed, sandblasted, and polished finishes.
Sandblasted movement retaining ring with recessed engraving.
Strap: Jean Rousseau – Green, purple, or orange Alcantara – lined with rubberised calfskin, coloured stitching, fitted with curved presto spring bars, and mounted on the new adjustable pin buckle.
Warranty: 3-year, worldwide
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