Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Awake Honours the Tradition of Poppies on Remembrance Day with its Son Maì ‘The Poppies’
Inspired by Remembrance Day poppies, Awake launches a bright red handcrafted dial employing the Vietnamese art of Son Maì lacquer.
Our readers might remember reading about the fledgeling French brand Awake, which has taken the ancestral Vietnamese art of sanded natural lacquer and applied it to the dial of its first permanent collection, Son Mài. Inspired by the bright red colour of Remembrance Day poppies, Awake has produced a special Son Maì edition and will donate 10% of sales to a charity supporting bereaved military children.
Remembrance Day is held on the second Sunday of November and commemorates all British and Commonwealth service members who have died in conflict since the First World War. One of the most recognisable and popular symbols of Remembrance Day is the poppy, a flower that was a common sight on the Western Front.
Known as ‘The Poppies’, the watch features not one but two different métiers d’art. Employing Vietnamese master lacquerers, the dials are handcrafted using the ancestral technique of Son Maì sanded lacquer, followed by the application of pure silver leaf for additional texture and relief. Each dial takes between 10 and 15 hours to complete, and given the artisanal nature of its execution, no two dials will ever be the same. Another characteristic feature of the collection is its luminescence. Instead of applying Super-LumiNova on the top surfaces of the hands and indices, these are made from a solid base of SLN BGW9 and then capped with a faceted polished steel overlay.
Like the inaugural editions, the 39mm case with a thickness of 11.8mm (incl. the sapphire crystal) is made from recycled stainless steel with polished and brushed finishes. The screw-in caseback has a textured Clous de Paris ring and a plaque bearing the name of the watch. Equipped with a La Joux-Perret G101 automatic three-hand movement beating at 4Hz with a 68-hour power reserve, the rotor is decorated with a bead-blasted centre.
The red NATO-style calfskin strap is handcrafted in Paris by Atelier du Bracelet Parisien. For each Poppy watch sold, Awake will donate 10% to Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a registered charity in England and Wales. The Poppies is not a limited edition but limited in time, with pre-orders opening November 18th at 14:00 CET through December 1st, 2024. The watch retails for GBP 1,700 / EUR 2,000 / CHF 1,900 / USD 2,200 (all prices excluding taxes and shipping).
More information at awakewatches.com.
