The Awake Sơn Mài Frosted Leaf was introduced as a trio of limited editions in 2025 and has been revisited a couple of times since, including for the Hands On Horology Union Jack special edition. Each time they have released one, it has been a sell out success. It’s only natural that Awake would make the decision to graduate the Frosted Leaf from an occasional limited edition to a permanent collection, which is exactly what they’ve done with the launch of the Sơn Mài Frosted Leaf Blood Moon, Storm and Lagoon.
Jumping straight to the dials, the Blood Moon features an intense red tone against black that’s similar to the Union Jack special edition but without the carefully sculpted British Isles motif in the centre. Instead it has the chaotic, asymmetric shapes of the natural frosted leaf lacquer process. Second is Storm, which has an orange and black dial. The use of orange is designed to convey the idea of danger, like the danger posed by an oncoming storm and flashes of lightening. Last is Lagoon, a teal/blue version that conjures images of tropical waters.
Each dial takes around 15 hours to produce using traditional Vietnamese Sơn Mài lacquer. What gives this collection its name and distinctive textures is that between each layer of lacquer, pieces of silver leaf are applied. It elevates the collection and produces dials that are genuinely unlike what anyone else in the entire watch industry is doing.
For this collection, Awake have used their new 38mm case with 100m water resistance. It’s an improvement over the older 39mm version, doubling the water resistance and making it a touch more wearable for a variety of wrists. It also uses the new Awake logo with a refined, handwritten style. It’s not all change through as they maintain the bullet-shaped hour markers backlit by BGW9 lume, which is a detail that collectors like.
Inside, the Sơn Mài Frosted Leaf Blood Moon, Storm and Lagoon house the La Joux-Perret G101 automatic with 68-hour power reserve. It’s one of the premier third-party movements of the day due to that impressive power reserve. Awake have also fitted it with a custom tungsten rotor that reads “La Joux-Perret Pour Awake”.
All three models are priced at €2,820 (approx. £2,400), reflecting the complexity of the dial, high quality movement and improved water resistance compared to the previous €2,580 (approx. £2,200) edition. Additionally, the new series is not a limited edition, becoming a permanent collection for Awake. However, each colourway has an annual production quantity of 100 pieces so availability at any specific moment is not guaranteed.
Price and Specs:
More details at Awake.
