AWAKE returns to its distinctive Frosted Leaf technique with three new additions to the Sơn Mài Collection: Blood Moon, Storm and Lagoon. Introduced in 2025, the technique combines traditional Vietnamese lacquerwork with pure silver leaf to produce dials of considerable depth and texture. For 2026, the French independent has turned its attention to natural phenomena, with each of the three new references interpreting a different fleeting encounter with the natural world. Blood Moon pairs black and vivid red, Lagoon moves through shades of turquoise, cobalt and greenish blue, while Storm combines black and orange to evoke lightning breaking through a darkened sky.
Each dial requires approximately 15 hours of work and begins with natural lacquer derived from the sap of the Rhus verniciflua tree, grown in northern Vietnam. Layers of lacquer, natural pigments and pure silver leaf are gradually built up before being sanded and polished by hand. With the Frosted Leaf process, additional layers of silver leaf are incorporated into the lacquer before an experienced craftsman sands the surface with his fingers, gradually revealing the irregular patterns beneath. The result is inherently individual: variations in the placement of the silver leaf, pigments and hand-finishing mean that no two dials are precisely alike.
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The collection also introduces a new 38 mm stainless steel case, measuring 44.75 mm lug-to-lug and 11.5 mm thick including its slightly convex sapphire crystal. Polished surfaces are contrasted by satin-finished case sides, while the reshaped screw-down crown increases water resistance to 100 metres. AWAKE has also introduced a new handwritten logo and coat-of-arms emblem as part of an updated visual identity. The applied hands and indices employ the brand’s Chiaroscuro luminous treatment, combining Super-LumiNova BGW9 with polished, brushed and faceted steel to create a halo around the dial after dark.
Inside is the Swiss-made automatic La Joux-Perret G101, offering a 68-hour power reserve and fitted here with a new custom tungsten rotor finished with polished, brushed and bead-blasted surfaces. Each watch is paired with a colour-matched nubuck calfskin strap handmade in France by Maison Bouveret and equipped with AWAKE’s new Fitwell M1 micro-adjustment pin buckle.
Blood Moon, Storm and Lagoon join the standard Sơn Mài – Frosted Leaf collection, although production will be restricted to approximately 100 examples of each version annually. Pricing is €2,820, including taxes and shipping, with deliveries expected during the final week of September 2026.
Please visit the brand website for more details.
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