Where light becomes a language
It took a full year of research, testing, and fine-tuning to develop a new luminous identity for the Son Mai collection — one that is both innovative and unprecedented, inspired by the Japanese aesthetic of chiaroscuro.
Using Super-LumiNova® BGW9, we’ve created a subtle yet striking interplay of light and shadow, thanks to the complex construction of our hands and indexes. Together, they generate a backlit effect that amplifies the depth, glow, and quiet intensity of the lacquer — offering a visual experience like no other.
In his seminal work In Praise of Shadows, Junichirō Tanizaki reminds us that beauty lies not in objects themselves, but in our relationship to them — and in the light that allows them to retain their mystery.
In that same spirit — poetic, precise, and purposeful — we’ve imagined new hands and indexes built on a unique technical structure. No shortcuts. No compromises. Only design rooted in innovation, and in the quiet avant-garde soul of AWAKE.
Light, redefined with elegance
Our creative approach follows two essential principles:
To offer a dial that is refined, legible, and luxurious by day — without ever overshadowing the natural depth of the lacquer — and to heighten its ethereal, almost hypnotic presence at night, revealing unexpected textures and reflections within this living material.
The Son Mai hands and indexes are the result of obsessive attention to detail and a constant drive to push boundaries.
Rejecting the traditional “bathtub” lume-fill found on most watches, we sought to reimagine how light interacts with the dial.
Our hour and minute hands, along with the applied indexes, are crafted from a custom base of solid Super-LumiNova® BGW9 — finely machined, then topped with a faceted, polished steel cap.
Their sword-like tips feature a brushed finish, creating a refined contrast that blends elegance with precision.
This thoughtful layering allows light to remain discreet and beautifully integrated — preserving the integrity of the lacquer dial during the day.
Where luminous material is often too harsh, too bright, too obvious — ours is veiled, softened, and elevated by the polished steel that surrounds it.
A quiet statement of what elegance can be.
When darkness reveals the unseen
It’s only as night falls — or in moments of darkness — that the luminescence awakens.
An elegant halo begins to glow, magnifying the brilliance and depth of the lacquer, and illuminating the delicate patterns hidden within the silver leaf below.
Reflected across the inner flange and off the dial’s polished elements — like a constellation of miniature mirrors — the light reveals subtle secrets that remain invisible by day.
They emerge slowly, gently, as if rising from the shadows.
The result: a hypnotic, serene, dreamlike tableau — a visual harmony that stirs something deeply personal within.
A new luminous language, born of shadow and reverence
Originally imagined as a tribute to an ancestral technique — whose purpose was to reveal, not impose — this new luminous work embodies the same philosophy: to suggest, to elevate, to honour detail without ever overwhelming it.
A study in nuance, in restraint, in emotion.
From now on, this signature light will become a hallmark of AWAKE — both innovative and unique — a luminous identity rooted in silence, shadow, and soul.
Our watches
