Awake Sơn Mài Silver Leaf Gets Four New Lacquer Dials and a Trimmer 38mm Case

Awake is a small Vietnamese independent brand doing something genuinely different. Their signature move is the Sơn Mài dial, made using traditional Vietnamese lacquerware techniques that go back centuries. It's a craft-intensive process, and the results look like nothing else in the watch industry.

Now the Sơn Mài Silver Leaf collection is back with four new dial variants, a refined 38mm case, and what the brand calls its latest design language. If you haven't paid attention to Awake before, this update is a good reason to start.

What's Actually New

The case has been pulled in to 38mm. That's the headline spec change, and it matters. The previous sizing felt like it was chasing a trend; 38mm is a more considered fit for a watch built around this kind of delicate, handcrafted dial work. It suits the aesthetic.

The bigger story is the four new lacquer dials. Each one uses the Sơn Mài process, which involves layering lacquer, inlaying materials, then cutting and polishing back to reveal the composition underneath. Silver leaf is embedded into the dial construction, giving each piece a depth and texture that photographs only partially capture. No two dials are truly identical. That's not marketing copy, that's just how the craft works.

Awake has also refined the overall design language across the collection. The details are tighter, the execution looks more confident than earlier references.

Who This Watch Is For

You need to care about dials. Specifically, dials as objects, not just surfaces that hold indices. If your priority is a column-wheel chronograph movement or a skeletonized rotor, Awake isn't your brand. But if you want a watch where the dial is genuinely the point, something handmade, irrepeatable, and rooted in a craft tradition that most collectors have never encountered, the Sơn Mài Silver Leaf makes a compelling case.

The 38mm case also opens this up to wrists that found the previous sizing awkward. It's a dress-adjacent watch, but not a stuffy one. The lacquer dials read as contemporary, not antique.

How It Compares

Comparisons are tricky here because there's no direct competitor doing this specific thing. If you're shopping for craft-forward independent watches in this territory, you're probably looking at brands using enamel dials, meteorite, or marquetry. Those are all valid, but they're also more established categories with more established price premiums.

Awake is making a case for Sơn Mài lacquerware as equally deserving of that attention. The technique has real historical depth and genuine complexity. The silver leaf inlay adds material interest beyond what most enamel dials offer.

• Case size: 38mm, refined from previous references
• Dial technique: Traditional Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquerware with silver leaf inlay
• New dials: Four variants in the updated collection
• Key selling point: Every dial is unique due to the handcraft process
• Brand origin: Vietnam, one of very few watch brands building on Vietnamese craft heritage

The Craft Argument

It's worth being direct about why Sơn Mài matters as a technique. Vietnamese lacquerware is a recognized fine art form, not a decorative afterthought. The process requires layering natural lacquer, inlaying materials like eggshell or metal leaf, and then carefully grinding back through the layers to reveal the composition. It's slow, it requires skill, and the results carry a tactile quality that feels completely different from printed or applied dials.

Awake is essentially arguing that this tradition belongs in a watch collection alongside enamel painting or guilloché. Looking at these dials, it's hard to disagree.

The Sơn Mài Silver Leaf collection is available directly through Awake. If you've been watching the independent watch space for a brand doing something genuinely original, this is worth your time.