Sơn Mài - "Year of the Sssnake"

A shared love of lacquer and colors.

Chris Alexander, aka The Dial Artist, was one of the first people to encourage our approach of (re)highlighting and modernizing ancestral skills from around the world. The launch of the Sơn Mài collection at the end of 2024, based on the age-old traditional art of Vietnamese lacquerware, was a trigger for this artist, renowned for his love of materials (particularly lacquer), colors and his ability to give watch dials an extra soul and life, a new energy.

When we asked him to come up with an unexpected - and resolutely rock’n'roll - tribute to the tradition of the Chinese zodiac, and more specifically to the Year of the Snake, the ideas quickly sprang to life to find the best way of highlighting different identities, cultures, traditions and know-how in the confined space of a dial.

This collaboration, limited to 50 pieces made entirely by hand on two continents, by an artist and craftsmen united by the same love of lacquer and colors, transcends borders and perfectly embodies our vision of the fusion between modern art and ancestral craftsmanship, to give life to an original, daring and non-conformist timepiece!

Portrait of Chris Alexander aka The Dial Artist. 

Chris Alexander is a Scottish artist who draws his inspiration from his childhood spent in South Africa, and from his many passions: street art, pop culture and astrology.

Chris founded The Dial Artist in 2017, drawing on twenty years experience in the creative industries, during which time he has been able to experiment with and master a wide range of paints, lacquers and techniques, honing his skills and artistry.

In just a few years, he has made a name for himself in the global watchmaking community for his colorful, vibrant dials and his sophisticated style, which blurs the boundaries between contemporary art and watchmaking. Watch brands and collectors all over the world turn to him to customise existing dials or create unique, made-to-measure projects that stand out and tell a new story every time.

STEP 1 - HANOI - VIETNAM 🇻🇳 

It all starts with the sap of the Rhus Verniciflua, a tree that grows in northern Vietnam and produces, between June and July, in very small quantities (just 200ml per tree), a natural lacquer considered to be the best in the world because it contains the highest proportion of gloss.

A first coat of lacquer is applied to the brass dial base. Then, with care and precision, the lacquerers spray on several thin layers of natural black pigments, obtained from minerals, plant derivatives or other organic sources, to obtain a deep, intense color. Several coats of pure lacquer are then applied, each time dried, sanded and polished, to give the dial a timeless shine.

It's a long, meticulous process that requires both great artistic talent and cutting-edge technical expertise on the part of our craftsmen, to provide Chris Alexander with the perfect “canvas” on which to express his art and techniques.

STEP 2 - PERTH - SCOTLAND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 

To bring this contemporary interpretation of the Serpent to life, Chris Alexander immersed himself in a meticulous study of the textures and reflections of snake skins. After much experimentation, he carefully selected a palette of matte paints with unique optical properties, capable of reacting to different light wavelengths. Yellow, blue, green and violet are applied by hand to each dial to create an organic, iridescent and ultra-realistic chromatic effect.

Once the colors have stabilized, the artist applies with extreme precision a thin textured pellicle, produced in his workshop in Scotland using advanced UV techniques. This exclusive pattern, inspired by snakeskin, creates the illusion of three-dimensional scales, with uncanny realism. Then comes the final step: a delicate layer of gloss black paint, applied with an ultra-fine brush, accentuates the contrasts and reveals all the visual complexity of the composition.

The result: a living, hypnotic dial that captures and plays with light. Each piece differs subtly from the last, making each copy of the limited edition ‘Sơn Mài - Year of the Sssnake’ a truly unique creation. From Vietnam to Scotland, from traditional gestures to technological know-how, this dial requires 15 hours of handwork, and in itself embodies the spirit of this extraordinary collaboration.

50 dials hand made to bring good luck, wisdom and light.

The 50 unique dials in this limited edition have been imagined and designed with patience and passion, between Vietnam and Scotland, to bring good luck to their future owners, promoting regeneration and growth while warding off negative energies. Each complex and mysterious dial is the work of craftsmen and of a curious, warm, generous and profoundly human artist - qualities often associated with people born in the Year of the Snake, a sign of wisdom, intuition and finesse of mind.

With no logo, no index, these dials embody a clear artistic approach: to let the full visual power of the motif express itself freely. The strikingly realistic reptilian design interacts with the light through a subtle alternation of matt and shiny finishes. And when night falls, the hands come to life to reveal our exclusive luminous signature, inspired by Japanese chiaroscuro; diffusing a discreet, magnetic halo of light, extending the mysterious aura of the snake.

Creations full of meaning and symbolism, designed to instill patience, love, wisdom and good fortune in those who wear them, as predicted by the Year of the Snake 2025.

A caseback featuring carefully studied details and finishes.

On the back of each ‘Sơn Mài - Year of the Sssnake’ watch beats the LJP G101 automatic calibre, with unidirectional winding, designed by the Swiss Manufacture La Joux-Perret. Renowned for its robustness and precision, this movement has a power reserve of 68 hours and is equipped, exclusively for AWAKE, with a tungsten rotor featuring refined contrasts, combining hollowed surfaces and polished reliefs. A play of textures and finishes that adds depth and modernity to the movement's design.

The movement is adorned with a custom-made bead-blasted ring, meticulously laser-engraved with the artist's name, the words ‘Swiss Made’ and the serial number of each piece. Lovers of detail will appreciate the little surprises hidden in the caseback: the word “Sssnake”, lengthened by several ‘s’ to make playful spirits sssiffle, and whose final ‘e’ stretches out like a forked tongue... a playful reference to the animal totem of this edition.

Marine leather straps for the ultimate reptilian effect!

To equip this limited edition ‘Sơn Mài - Year of the Sssnake’, we have chosen an iridescent and metallic purple LUNA® trout leather, from the French tannery ICTYOS, whose fine scales and subtle colour nuances extend the reptilian appearance of the dial in an elegant and harmonious way, and give the sensation of a snake coiling all around the wrist. 

The leather is very fine-grained and regular, changing colour under the effect of light for a hypnotic visual experience at every glance.

Lined in ‘Burgundy’ calfskin and hand-stitched tone-on-tone, this exceptionally hard-wearing and elegant marine leather has a soft, perfectly smoothed feel and meets all the technical requirements of the watchmaking industry.

Dimensions: 115x80mm / 20x16mm - Mounted on our 316L recycled steel pin buckle - fitted with presto pumps.

Certificate of authenticity and personalized cases.

Each of the 50 watches in this limited edition will be delivered with a certificate of authenticity, attesting that it is indeed a work by The Dial Artist.

And for even more pleasure and exclusivity, The Dial Artist has customized each of the 50 cases in this ‘Sơn Mài - Year of the Sssnake’ project with his signature, the limited series number of the watch it houses and a word characterizing this limited edition and the relationship we have developed over time: 

Fearless, Create, Dream, Freedom, Excel, Defy, Daring, Timeless, Love, Friendship... and many more!