Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Blending Crafts With The Awake Son Mai Guilloché Main (incl. Video)
A vibrant coming together of craftsmanship.
Awake Watches made its debut in 2019 by lifelong watch enthusiast and collector Lilian Thibault. The brand quickly found an audience through original, graphic and fun elements such as meteorite dials, collaborations with artists, and contemporary styling and materials, at a very fair price. In 2024, in celebration of the brand’s 5th anniversary, Awake made a switch from its inaugural range of watches to putting the spotlight on artisanal craftsmanship. Using an ancient Vietnamese lacquering technique called Son Maí as the inspiration and key element, Awake launched a new collection under the Son Maí name. The collection expanded earlier this year with the very vibrant Son Maí Guilloché Main collection, and here’s what you need to know!
The Son Maí collection was not only a big step up for the brand in terms of quality, but it also proved an instant success. It meant a new direction, a new design, and a new path to even more craftsmanship. The collection launched with silver-leaf dials coated in vibrant colours, and Awake hasn’t stopped there. A poppy-themed dial and even one inspired by the iconic Kill Bill movie followed, and now it’s time for the Son Maí Guilloché Main collection to step up and shine. This new Son Maí series comes with 3 main novelties: a redesigned case, guilloché decorations and a new typography for the brand’s logo.
To start with the exterior, things start with a simple yet refined and quite elegant stainless steel case that has been redesigned compared to the previous Son Maí releases. At 38mm in width, 11.5mm in height and 44. 5mm from end to end, it wears lovely and compact on the wrist, although a sub-10mm thickness would make it even better. Nevertheless, elements such as the concave polished bezel, the ‘horned’ lugs with a polished bevel on the vertical ‘step’ and the straight brushed flanks give the Son Maí a refined profile. The crown is nicely proportioned and has a fine sense of grip thanks to grooves in the rim. On top, it’s finished with the brand’s logo in relief, which is a nice touch. A sapphire crystal protects the movement around the back, and of course there’s one to cover the dial.
Yet if there’s one thing to be said about the Son Maí Guilloché Main series, it’s that the dials are truly alive with detail! They jump out of the case thanks to their vibrant red, green and purple base colours, transitioning to yellow, orange and deep pink respectively. Each of the three, labelled Sunset, Alba and Borealis, has its own distinct guilloché pattern, which is applied to the blank by hand. Once that’s done, an artisan applies a lacquer through a traditional Vietnamese process called Son Maí. Multiple layers are applied to the guilloché dial before being sanded and polished to welcome the next layer. Step by step, a rich and deep colour is achieved, which, paired with the guilloché below it, makes for a very striking dial for sure!
The applied markers add a modern touch thanks to solid Super-LumiNova bases, which shine bright blue when the light goes dim. The polished hands have a similar solid base, and the Awake logo is printed in white at noon. This carefully layered coming together of crafts gives the Son Maí Guilloché Main an incredible aura, with a deep and vibrant dial as the main talking point. The finishing touch is the new type of logo seen at noon, adding some calligraphic flair to it all.
Similar to prior Son Mai collections, Awake uses the G101 automatic by La Joux-Perret for each of the three Guilloché Main editions. This movement has been on the rise over the past couple of years, and has proven itself a more than capable alternative to the likes of ETA and Sellita. The movement runs at a rate of 28,800vph and delivers a steady 68 hours of running time. The tungsten rotor bears the Awake logo along with who makes it. The overall finishing is somewhat traditional but crisp and nicely done. The outer ring also reminds you of Awake’s philosophy to bring cultures together through watchmaking, as it is inscribed with the phrase “Illuminating The Hands And Heritage Behind Rare Crafts”.
The Awake Son Maí Guilloché Main collection is fitted to a handmade Alcantara strap made by Jean Rousseau. The deep green, bright red or vibrant purple straps are fitted to a stainless steel Fitwell M1 buckle, which can be adjusted in length as you go along your day. The buckle gives you about three mm of play, which helps to accommodate the swelling of your wrist on a hot day. A simple “pull” on the buckle itself moves the pin through the three slots. The collection is limited to 200 pieces per colour, and retails for EUR 2,650 (excl. VAT).
For more information, please visit Awake-Watches.com.
