Awake’s Sơn Mài Silver Leaf has become one of the brand’s most active canvases, moving through a run of lacquer treatments and colour studies since its 2024 introduction.
The latest update brings the Silver Leaf into line with the refreshed Sơn Mài case and dial architecture, while adding four Vignette references built around gradient colour and hand-worked Vietnamese lacquer.
At a glance
- Awake has introduced four new Sơn Mài Silver Leaf Vignette models, with three joining the core collection and Purple Viola limited to 200 pieces.
- Each dial is made from silver leaf and traditional Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquer, with a fumé-style gradient that fades from dark edges to a lighter centre.
- The watches are due in late November at €2,640 including VAT, approximately £2,300.
Vignette colour comes to the Silver Leaf line
The Vignette treatment borrows its name from photography, where an image remains clearer at the centre while the edges darken.
In watch terms, it’s a fumé gradient, and here it gives the already reflective silver leaf dial a more atmospheric sense of depth.
Three of the colours have a link to earlier 2025 Silver Leaf Vignette references, but they aren’t simple name changes.
Moonlight Blue becomes Gentian Blue, Carmine Red becomes Indian Red, and Ultra Violet becomes Purple Viola, each adjusted enough to read differently when viewed side by side.
Purple Viola is the limited edition of the group and appears closer to pink than the previous, deeper Ultra Violet tone.
Java Green is new to the Silver Leaf palette, adding a fresh option alongside the blue, red and purple references.
Handmade Sơn Mài dials with limited annual output
The appeal of the Sơn Mài Silver Leaf has always rested on the dial rather than on novelty for its own sake.
Each dial is handcrafted from silver leaf and traditional Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquer, a process that takes more than 10 hours and around 12 lacquer layers.
Every layer is sanded and polished before the next is applied, which helps explain why the blue, red and green models being part of the core collection doesn’t mean broad production.
Awake says those three permanent references will still amount to roughly 100 pieces per year.
Purple Viola is capped at 200 pieces in total.
The updated 38mm case and Chiaroscuro lume
The new Silver Leaf models also adopt the broader Sơn Mài refresh introduced earlier this year.
The case now measures 38mm across and 11.5mm thick, slightly reduced from the original Silver Leaf’s 39mm diameter and 11.8mm thickness.
A sapphire crystal and 100 metres of water resistance keep the watch practical, while the updated dial carries Awake’s newer handwritten-style logo.
The hands and indices use steel caps over blocks of Super-LumiNova BGW9, rather than having luminous material applied directly on top.
Awake calls this its Chiaroscuro luminous signature, designed to remain discreet in daylight before creating a halo-like glow in darkness.
Inside is the Swiss-made La Joux-Perret G101, visible through an exhibition caseback and offering a 68-hour power reserve.
A redesigned movement ring surrounds the calibre and is engraved with Awake’s mission statement, “Illuminating the hands and heritage behind rare crafts”, alongside the slogan “Artisanship, Awakened”.
Straps and release details
The watches are paired with red, blue, green or grey straps in Alcantara or nubuck.
Each strap is handcrafted in France by Maisons Jean Rousseau and Bouveret, and the quick-release system makes colour swapping straightforward.
A Fitwell M1 micro-adjustable pin buckle is also included, giving the strap setup a more practical edge than a standard tang buckle.
All four references are scheduled to arrive in late November, priced at €2,640 including VAT, approximately £2,300.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Awake |
|---|---|
| Collection | Sơn Mài Silver Leaf Vignette |
| Case size | 38mm diameter, 11.5mm thick |
| Crystal | Sapphire |
| Dial | Silver leaf and traditional Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquer with Vignette gradient |
| Dial colours | Gentian Blue, Indian Red, Java Green, Purple Viola |
| Movement | Swiss-made La Joux-Perret G101 |
| Power reserve | 68 hours |
| Lume | Super-LumiNova BGW9 with steel-capped hands and indices |
| Water resistance | 100 metres |
| Strap | Alcantara or nubuck straps in red, blue, green or grey, handcrafted in France by Maisons Jean Rousseau and Bouveret |
| Buckle | Fitwell M1 micro-adjustable pin buckle |
| Production | Gentian Blue, Indian Red and Java Green around 100 pieces per year each; Purple Viola limited to 200 pieces total |
| Price | €2,640 including VAT, approximately £2,300 |
| Availability | Late November |
The new Vignette models don’t reinvent the Sơn Mài Silver Leaf so much as bring its most expressive dial format into the brand’s current case and finishing language.
For collectors drawn to artisanal dials at a wearable size, the Java Green and Purple Viola references are likely to be the ones that feel newest, while the full quartet sharpens the Silver Leaf’s place as Awake’s most craft-led line.
