Awake has added four Vignette gradient dials to its Sơn Mài Silver Leaf collection, three permanent (Java Green, Gentian Blue, Indian Red) and one limited (Purple Viola), and moved the whole line to a redesigned 38mm stainless steel case. The dials are hand-made in Hanoi using silver leaf and about twelve layers of Sơn Mài lacquer, and the case houses a La Joux-Perret G101 automatic with a 68-hour power reserve. Pricing is €2,640 including VAT, with deliveries starting in late November.
- Three permanent dial colors: Java Green, Gentian Blue, and Indian Red
- Purple Viola is a limited edition of 200 pieces, individually numbered
- Permanent colors limited to about 100 dials per year each
- Each dial takes more than ten hours to apply and polish
- Redesigned 38mm case, 44.75mm lug to lug, 11.5mm thick with crystal
- Chiaroscuro lume: sculpted steel caps set over Super-LumiNova BGW9 blocks
- Straps from Jean Rousseau and Bouveret with quick-release spring bars and Fitwell M1 micro-adjustable buckle
- Deliveries start in late November
The Chiaroscuro lume approach reverses the usual method, setting sculpted steel caps over blocks of Super-LumiNova BGW9 rather than painting lume onto the markers and hands.
The updated case has more shapely, curved lugs, and the straps were revised with slightly more padding for comfort.
The caseback ring is engraved with the mission statement and 'Artisanship, Awakened', and the strap buckle allows up to 3mm of micro-adjustment.
The Vignette dials have a darker periphery that increases contrast and intensifies the hues, and the Purple Viola is described as a bold purplish pink.
The reviewer calls the Vignette gradient well scaled, fading to black around the indices, and considers the 38mm size well judged.
The reviewer notes that the dial production time has dropped from 18 hours to 15 and now to 'above ten' hours.
The Vignette style is traced to 1970s and 1980s watchmaking, with darker edges fading to lighter tones at the center.
The Son Mai technique is linked to Thibault's travels in Vietnam and to a lacquer method several millennia old.